Mass Effect: Direct Interface
by AngryHanar
Summary: From the not-so-distant future, 2040s, a young savant finds himself in stasis until 2185. What makes him unique? Will he be able to continue on after a lifechanging event? Or will he become a useless reminder of the past. Will mostly follow canon events. NOT Mshep/Tali.
1. Begin Assimilation

Note to readers: This is my first fanfiction, and an interesting development occured to me. I will not incorporate Mass Effect in the preliminary chapter(s) to fully develop my character and his story! Will follow mostly cannon event-wise, with one ME2 character replaced. Also, will use (with permission asked) Calinstel's Keelish terminology located on "To Survive: Alliances" glossary along with some of the quarian philosophies. There will be sex, foul language, and the reference and use of drugs by multiple characters. Enjoy!

Today was an important day for the young Antonio Jackson Sanchez. Today was not only his birthday, but that of his fraternal twin Isabelle! Being the son of a Puerto Rican father and a white mother, his family still celebrated many traditional aspects of his father's heritage especially since he'd arrived on the island as a child. However, since both of his parents were in the military, they often did not have the time for anything significant. Such a big event, however, allowed them to dutifully produce a beautiful celebration.

Since the party died down substantially, the brother and sister went to the beach, on their favorite tree swing, perched perfectly overlooking the Atlantic.

"I can't believe how many people showed up!" Exclaimed an exhausted Isabelle. "I never believed the music would stay on so long."

"Well, it was your quinceanera, you have to know why it's so important, and it's so special." Retorted Antonio while examining the last guests leaving the house.

Isa rolled her eyes at him, then commented. "It's not as special as your graduation was! I can't control how old I am, so it just happened. You though, seriously how many people have a high school diploma at the age of 14!"

_Well, 15 now... _ He less than enthusiastically retorted. "Yeah...yeah... I know."

Again, Isa was less than thrilled with his response, and softly stated. "Why can't you let anyone compliment you, Antonio? Sometimes I think you're obsessed with perfection. You've been labeled a savant since we were in third grade! You knew that weird intergration thing by ten. We were still having difficulty doing division..." He merely shrugged in response, and she decided today wouldn't be the day he changed his philosophies. "You know we should celebrate today for ourselves and that invasion thing from last century."

Aj conceded slightly, although he hated being called by his real first name_. _"Yeah I guess so, it's still strange being born on June 4th… the invasion of Normandy…" He chuckled lightly, and glanced over at his sister. She didn't seem as interested to discuss their coincidental birthday.

Isa responded only with silence for a few moments. He was about to ask her if she was alright, when she phantasmally enunciated. "Do you really think there's living creatures out there? In my science classes, we've learned that we all developed thanks to everything a comet's made out of. They brought everything we needed for life." She looked at him with a thoughtful expression and jokingly added. "Too bad we don't live long enough to go searching."

Aj smirked at her conjecture, but was pondering what she said as he answered. "I hope so, how boring would it be if out of every single planet with a sun, only Earth worked. Our of 1098 g/cm2 of mass, only this one planet had the right combination of elements. It'd sure be a lonely galaxy."

Isabelle stared up at the sky, focusing on the little dipper. "If this one has life… imagine all those other galaxies… I guess that's why I want to be an astronomer. There's so much out there to discover, so much out there even you can't understand…"

Aj laughed, and began trudging from the beach back towards their house. "Well, don't think for too long or your brain will explode." As she followed, he playfully elbowed her rib. "I think your friend's sister is in to me."

Isa face palmed with a sigh, commenting. "Only you would think a talk about the endosymbiotic theory means a girl's coming on to you."

Aj failed to respond, only chuckling at his sister's comment, as they made their way back to the party.

He remembered going to bed in his room after flirting with the new girl he'd met, Harumi, for a few hours. She was slightly older than him, but like many, was a couple of years behind him academically. At this moment, however, his mind was focused on the extremely different environment surrounding him as he woke up. He was extremely lethargic, barely able to keep his eyes open; the feeling was exponentially worse thanks to an obscenely bright light aimed directly at his eyes. Eventually, his vision improved, and he was able to make out his surroundings. The room was a plain white, with a metal door, and had odd grooves in the walls throughout. _Damnit, that looks like soundproofing material._

"Greetings Antonio, we've been waiting for you to wake up." Exclaimed a soft, feminine voice. It was almost familiar, but hidden by the obvious, slightly mechanical voice manipulation.

Aj tried to scratch his temple, but was frightened as he noticed his arms and legs were bound to the laying platform. He nervously questioned. "Where am I? I went to bed in my room."

The voice made no attempts to reveal his location, but did at least clarify itself. "You are safe, that is all you need to know. We have a very special surprise for you."

"As much as I love surprises, I... I'd rather not." He stuttered, failing to sarcastically induce himself into a calmer demeanor. Unfortunately, he had no means of escaping his current predicament.

The voice devilishly continued. "Well, your parents told us how smart you are, and we've been watching you for a long time. I think you'd make a perfect candidate for our little experiment."

"Where am I !?" Aj questioned very lightly, barely able to comprehend his situation. _What the hell is going on? Where's Isa?_

For some reason, ominous and detached voices never seem to answer lingering questions. "Don't worry, I think you'll approve. You are young enough so that your body is still pliable. You're still growing, developing, and discovering new links. We think that at your age, you'd accept our treatment better than our other subjects."

"What experiments? What happened to them?" He yelled, finally unable to hide his fear, anguish, and utter helplessness.

The voice sighed, but did not change its tone. "Unfortunately, they weren't as.. accepting to our upgrading. Your nervous system, I know that you're well aware of how it works."

"I know the basics..." He hesitantly replied.

The voice seemed more upbeat as it explained. "Good, well, soon yours will have another system parallel to it. You will be able to directly interface with technology. The effect may not manifest itself for a long time, or ever, since organic matter often has difficulty dealing with high amounts of metalloids. Hopefully, you don't die with the sudden artificial interface to your mind if it does succeed, that'd be an unpleasant waste of resources."

"Hopefully? I don't want that crap?! I'm fine how I am. Please" Aj pleaded. _That's just going to kill me… it's impossible…_

The laugh what emanated seemed as cold and lifeless as one would expect from a serial killer. "Ah, what a pity… You'd better start thinking positive. If you give up on us, we'll make sure Isabelle is our next 'patient'. Thankfully, you'll know a lot more soon enough. You will awake, and everything will be fine. You'll be in pain; if you start dying, we'll keep you alive."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Aj barked out in protest.

There was no answer, and he heard a door open. He saw a woman, indistinguishably masked. She had wheeled in a small cart full of various-sized syringes. Not one, not two, but over a dozen. He was about to plead for mercy, but the individual wasted no time in her efforts. The first, and largest, syringe went deep into his chest, the needle piercing his lung. The blackness consumed him. There would be no escaping whoever or whatever this is.

Aj finally awoke covered in sweat and hyperventilating. His body felt like he'd bathed in a vat of acid. He couldn't find a single scar throughout his body. He was about to scream for his parents, but the vivid dream kept him from crying out. _Was it a dream?_

When he went downstairs, nobody was there. His entire body screamed in protest as he walked, but it seemed only a mental hindrance, as his muscles seamlessly complied. Aj cautiously asked, "Hello? Mom? Dad?"

Fortunately, his sister was there, and she seemed as chipper as ever. "Good morning AJ! Glad to see you didn't sleep until noon again, you were up pretty late!" She happily retorted.

_I forgot… I met one of her friends last night… that was last night? God that was a hell of a dream…_ He smirked, and slyly remarked, "Yeah yeah, I think your just mad I got her number." She rolled her eyes, but before she could comment, he quipped. "So where's mom? I know dad needed to go back to the base today."

Isa shrugged her shoulders as she went to grab some orange juice. "She went with dad I think, I haven't seen her all day."

Aj seemed satisfied with the answers as he plopped on the nearby couch. He flipped on the T.V., and adjusted the volume to a low setting. "You're probably right." _Last night was so weird… if it was just a dream, why the hell is my entire body on fire? There's no way it could have been a dream… it was so realistic… and I didn't even take a melatonin… what gives…maybe it's just sleep depr- _His thoughts were interrupted when his sister sat beside him with a worried expression. He calmly stated. "Yeah?"

She frowned at his verbage, and inquisitively remarked. "I asked you twice if you were going to call Harumi, and you never answered. I was even going to make a spiffy comment, but you don't look like your thinking about her… you just look…confused… What's wrong?"

Although both of the siblings knew he was undoubtedly the more 'astute' when it came to academic performance, it never ceased to amaze him just how adept she was at delving into people's subconsciously expressed behaviors. Aj calmly responded. "I just had a really bad dream last night, but it was different. I've never had one what felt so real, so… terrifying. I don't know, maybe I'm just really tired."

Isabelle raised an eyebrow at him, but let it rest at that. She handed him a glass of orange juice, and supportively said. "Whatever it was, don't let it get to you." He gratefully accepted the cup, but her unsatisfied expression did not fade. "It must have been really bad if you're worried about it."

Aj nodded, scratching his chin for a moment. "It was… I've never remembered so many details before… The last thing I remember was a giant needle got pressed into my chest." He put his fingers around the area he'd remembered, and felt an extremely sharp pain along with the sensation to cough.

Apparently he winced rather expressively, as his sister's expression changed from confused to extremely worried. Isa nervously asked. "Are you okay?"

He suppressed a cough as he retorted. "Yeah, just hurt for a second. I still don't get why-" Unfortunately, he could not suppress the cough for long, and it rather loudly made its presence known. That's not what caused either of them to freeze in shock, but more so the coagulate of blood on the hand which had covered his mouth.

His sister immediately stood up, and whipped out her phone. "I'm going to call dad, you need to get to the hospital." Aj was about to protest, but another sharp pain and coughing up another sputnum of blood seemed to assuage his reservations. His sister randomly grumbled "Damnit!" into her phone before slamming it shut. "He's not answering, and neither is mom." She paced the room a few times as he nervously laid on the couch.

_What the hell is going on… or what happened last night?_ He reassuringly said. "Relax Isa, I feel alright. If it was serious, I'd be having trouble breathing. Just keep your phone out and ready, we can wait for a while." He wasn't sure if he was trying more to comfort her than to worry about the true gravity about the situation.

She glanced at him worriedly, but begrudgingly accepted and sat on the nearby recliner, eyeing him with a disapproving expression. "Fine, but if you even cough again, I'm calling an ambulance."

Thankfully, the next hour on the couch was free of any major malfunctions, and his breathing didn't seem to be impaired, although he was still in shock. _This couldn't have been a dream, then… could it? _Instead of pondering the plausibilities, he and his sister conversated about the party last night, and who showed up. Naturally, she began to digress on her dress and other self decorations, and he did his best to keep the façade of interest. After nearly an hour, a loud knocking interrupted their conversation. Aj was slightly pleased he wouldn't need to be educated on the different reasons she chose a blue dress instead of black.

Isa immediately hopped out of the recliner, and frowned at him as he tried to lift himself. He took the unspoken cue and reluctantly relaxed back into the couch. She walked over to the door, and quickly opened it to see who the visitor was. Aj could see two large men in dark suits, sporting the nearly cliché sunglasses and expressionless jaw set. He saw one of them glance at him, then tap his ear set and make a quick verbal communication. The duo walked over to the couch, along with a confused Isa behind them.

Noticing her look, Aj cautiously inquired a gentleman as they approached. "Can we help you?"

The man nodded, and gestured Isa to sit beside Aj. Once she did so, the man's accomplice began to speak. "We're from the CIA, Mr. Sanchez." It felt incredibly strange to possess a surname in conversation, but his thoughts were interrupted as he continued. "We regret to inform you that both of your parents have been compromised."

"WHAT!?" Isa yelled from the couch. Aj was in complete shock and was unable to say a word.

"Your father was giving a speech at Camp Blanding, when he was…." The man paused, glancing at both of the two young teens in front of him. "He was assassinated, we think by a terrorist organization. Your mother is fine, but she needs to be relocated for defense purposes, as we don't know if they'll go after her next. You'll be staying with your grandparents now for your own safety. We are all incredibly sorry for your loss."

That was the last thing he could remember…except his sister immediately bawling on his shoulder for a few hours as he held her close. Within a few minutes, he was joining her, except in a more reserved and quiet manner. The two gentlemen did not leave their house, and actually respectfully did not interfere as the children wept and gave them their space. He remembered a few flashes of the two CIA agents actually helping them pack into a large armored vehicle; they only left the furniture behind. They even let him pack his father's old pistol…

He would be moving to a different part of Florida, down near the Everglades, with his grandparents…without his father. Nothing would be the same, although he momentarily forgot about the lingering pain in his chest. _Why isn't mom here?_

Never had he taken such a long drive in his life, a lifeless, depressing trail towards the north. He didn't resent his grandparents; he loved the dearly…but in the past 24 hours, he'd had two life changing events. One, he was still unsure of….his other problem…but that wasn't his concern at the moment…he lost the most important mentor of his life. However, as he saw his sister sleeping beside him, her eyes dried from a constant stream of crying, he knew he had a purpose still. To keep his sister safe.


	2. The Travel Afar

Four years can do a lot to a person.

Aj's body grew in ways unexpected by his genetics; he always claimed tetrahydrocannabinol was a growth factor (sarcastically). He managed to hit 6'8" (203cm), and weighed at roughly 230lb. His parents would have barely reached his shoulders, and his sister was even shorter than that!

Interestingly, when Aj and Isa called a few of their neighbors indicating –with carefully practiced omittance due to the nearby C.I.A agent- why they left the area so suddenly, a pleasant development befell them. His Japanese neighbors had been considering moving to Florida for quite a while now, and due to their children's kinship, had no qualms picking a location near their own. Although she primarily associated with Isa at the beginning, quickly she had befriended both of the siblings. Currently, she was a sophomore in college, while Isa was a freshman.

During his attendance at F.I.T (Florida Institute of Technology), Aj decided to respect his parent's -well mostly his father- accomplishments and enlisted in the ROTC. He knew his technological skills would help defend the nation which had given him everything, including a financial contribution to his education. In combat simulations, he was excellent in middle-range combat, often comparing himself to a certain Mr. Gump's dedication to his rifle or shotgun. Snipers were not his forte. In hand-to-hand combat, he quickly learned how to subdue his enemy, often times in under fifteen seconds. Despite his instructor's insistence on diversifying your approach, he seemed to only focus on muay thai combat, in which he excelled.

But that was all in the past, and with a fresh new degree, the possibilities were endless. Aj awoke, unsuspecting of the day's importance. Yesterday he graduated from F.I.T with a dual-degree in biosynthetic nanotechnology and thermodynamics. _I really need to get a doctorate in bio-nano, but I don't know… I'm getting really sick of school._ The savant was the valedictorian out of one of the most prestigious schools in the nation, but he wasn't really proud of his accomplishments. Nothing done in the school room would fully prepare you for the real world.

Every morning of his life since that day, he awoke with a burning feeling across his body –localized around his chest. He hadn't visited a physician since then, terrified of the ominous threat, and only routinely confiding in a dentist's work. The morning pain quickly reminded him of every waking detail of his…dream. _Just let it go, you're alive, Isa is going to graduate high school in a few weeks…Just have to make a big decision this summer…and this fucking burning needs to stop one of these days..._ He never spoke about his mental wrestling with a unknown ailment. He often found his retreat in books, in science, in building, studying, advancing. He found the most interest in biological sciences, although he preferred the income associated with synthetic biotechnology. He was trying to become the pinnacle of all things technological. However, earning never gave him any peace. If anything, learning brought back the memories, memories a savant had a difficult time to suppress.

It took him over a year to find a shred peace from his parents... absence. Although he believed the story about protecting her safety, Aj could never understand why he hadn't even seen his mother in four years. Isabelle had cried almost every day afterwards for over a week. However, she'd grown up as well in the time span. His mother had never directly contacted either of them, but occasionally data packets with short words of appraisal came through. _At least she's alive, but she doesn't give a damn about her kids._ Neither of the two were sure why they were ignored, but both had bonded to each over the years. They had to stay strong for each other; although their grandparents helped, they were never what they needed. They deeply loved each of the kids, however, which was very stabilizing.

His peace was temporary and sporadic; although the temptations of his grandparent's unguarded alcohol were not difficult to avoid, many a night he found himself drinking alone just to numb the overwhelming feeling of alienation. Very rarely would he indulge in cannabis, though it's legality had been secured for decades. Thankfully, these actions of somewhat desperation had recently begun to decrease… His long friendship with Harumi had blossomed into a relationship; it had been approximately 9 months since they had become a couple.

As Aj finally crawled out of bed, he glanced at one of the few tangible memories he had of his youth. It was a picture of him and Isa smiling, both only 12, with their parents happily in the background. The photo overlooked their small cinderblock and concrete house, and the large, clear ocean could be seen in the background. It was definitely in the morning, as the sun was still rising up the sky. The few coconut trees and scenes of serendipity throughout the various individuals in the background added to the photo's complete manifestation of tranquility. He quickly hopped in the shower, and after a quick rinse, dressed himself in his normal gym shorts, t-shirt, and sneakers.

Walking down the stairs from his room, the pleasantly odoriferous smell of bacon permeated the air, momentarily distracting him. Before he had time to analyze the situation further, his grandmother's voice gently pierced the air; she stated. "Good morning dear, there's breakfast on the table. Isa said she needed to get something at the market, but she'll be back soon."

Aj quickly scurried down the stairs, and was treated to the sight of his grandfather at the table, sipping coffee and reading a news tablet, while his grandmother was loading the recently used dishes into the dishwasher. The day seemed to be going rather smoothly, and a discussion about the news report on the dolphin spliced with human genes with his grandparents was both interesting and entertaining. _I can't believe people used to think gene splicing was somehow unethical…_

When Aj finished his breakfast, he walked to the couch and grabbed his newer holotab, the latest development in holographic interface technology. Social media outlets were still in vogue, but nothing interesting had occurred in the last night. He checked his email, and was extremely surprised to see a letter from his mother.

_Antonio,_

_Congratulations on your graduation, soon I hope that your sister will be on the same successful path. The CIA has commissioned a new project, one which requires an individual experienced in technology. With your potential, they immediately gravitated to you - after I made the suggestion. Unfortunately, I couldn't get you the lead on the project since you don't have a doctorate yet. I attached a data packet showing you were to report to for your new assignment. You do have a choice in all of this, but I doubt you'll refuse. Please don't be late; and yes, your girlfriend, Harumi, also was invited. I think they're working it out to be some sort of extra summer course towards her degree. Anyways, please at least give it a chance, I think you'll be surprised._

_From,_

_Mom._

Aj muttered to himself. "She couldn't be any more impersonal..." He never knew how his mother knew so much about his life, including personal endeavors. Thankfully she never commented or mentioned his alcohol or herbal consumptions.

Isabelle teased loudly from behind his shoulder. "Aww, no fair! How come I don't get to go?" The sudden noise chance had drawn a yelp and near crashing of his chair.

After Aj had stabilized his chair, he scowled at his snooping sibling, but was more surprised than angry. He sarcastically answered. "Don't you know a thing called privacy?"

Isa smirked at him, unafraid of his fake anger. "Nope! Do you know what she's talking about?"

He rolled his eyes in response, but genuinely answered. "Not a clue. I'll probably give it a shot though." _But how can I trust a mom who won't even spend a single hour with us.._

Isa quick reply forced him back into the situation at hand. "You know the meeting for that is in 30 minutes right? At F.I.T's auditorium?"

_Oh shit! I've got to head over there. How about Harumi?_ He rapidly stammered out. "Shit, thanks Isa, I'll be back later then. Cya!"

His sister happily retorted. "Good luck and you'd better tell me what's going on!" He chuckled in response as he closed the door; she had made a thinly veiled threat about hiding his entire tangible book collection if he 'was all sneaky sneaky'.

After Aj had left the house, he called his girlfriend in case she needed a ride. Thankfully, she had just read the message herself and was ready to go when they arrived. They shared a quick kiss after the ride, and he found himself staring into her dark brown eyes. The same eyes he had met at Isa's quinceanera… the same eyes what had apparently admired him for years, much as he had to her, in secret… The same eyes he'd eventually confessed his love for, and had been extremely surprised had felt the same about him… _And now, we're actually together… _He couldn't help but momentarily think about how the next step in their relationship had been. Although the two had dated for a long time, some of the more physical aspects of their dating was still… strange to both of them. Their first intercourse…the first ever for both parties, was stranger than it was arousing. The humorous irony in the situation was both parties were content to play video games together after the somewhat successful first copulation. Within an hour after playing the newest scifi MMORPG, the couple had tried again. The second time was exponentially more gratifying than the first attempt. However, things were starting to look better in this department, as they had developed a consistent schedule of physical conformations for their budding romance. But more importantly, every time he looked into her eyes, he felt at peace…

"So, do you want to go inside or are you going to stare at me all day?" Harumi playfully teased, pulling Aj from one of his many mental deviations.

_That'd be nice…_ He smirked at his girlfriend and then locked hands with her. "Fine, let's go. I still don't have a clue what we're doing here though."

Harumi seemed clueless as well, and the two quickly made their way to the auditorium. As they waited for the time for the meeting to begin, they were rather surprised that less than forty people were in the area as a navy-blue suited, gray-haired individual stood at the podium.

"Greetings everyone! I am Captain Wright; I know many of you have questions, but I will answer the basics for everyone. You are all known to be excellent in your specific area of study. You have all been chosen by specific agencies to come participate in this expedition. As some of you already know, we will be using the CSM Marathon to travel to the Kuiper Belt. An approximation of 132 days has been established to reaching the preliminary location. Our goal is to isolate and test as many bodies of mass as we can to locate foreign signs of life. It has been shown that possibly extremophiles may reside in these bodies, and may very well be the key to life on our planet. If we are unable to locate signs of life, we will still be considered a success via placing probes in all the bodies we locate. This mission is not being forced upon you. You all have the option not to come, but we hope that you can see the potential for not only the United States, but for every single habitant of our Earth. Thank you, and please, come see me or my assistants for specific questions or your assigned role on the ship should you accept. The pay, by the way, is more than substantial."

The couple was rendered speechless as this new adventure offered itself before them…

Three months had passed since the initial launch of the CSM Marathon, which was scheduled a month after the meeting had adjourned. The craft was beautiful, yet small, at over 50 meters long, with four magnificent engines sporting state-of-the-art propulsion capabilities. Although the ship was surprisingly roomy, Captain Wright had made it painfully obvious that any personal belongings would have to be limited. AJ had decided to bring his picture, to remind himself of those he lost, but those he had, both of which he loved. _Well, maybe not so much that bitch who calls herself my mother…At least she got me on the ship though…a true mission solely for alien life… I wish I had a little bit more forewarning on it, though._The ship did have a small bar, thankfully, so his small liquor collection could wait at home until his return. His dad's pistol also accompanied him. It was functional, but also reminded him of the times his dad would let him shoot it. The only person who seemed less than thrilled at the new development was actually Isa; she was extremely happy for both him and his girlfriend, but disappointed he had to miss her graduation. They still communicated via the email console on the ship.

The most important occurrence on the ship, oddly, had nothing to do with scientific discovery. One day, when the mess hall was empty, they both quietly ate at their rationed dinner stuffs. Out of the blue, Harumi softly inquired."Hey Aj? We need a minute to talk…

Aj looked at his girlfriend quizzically for a moment before nonchalantly replying. "Yeah, what's up?" _She sounds nervous?_

Harumi fidgeted in her seat, then began to twittle a strand of her hair for distraction. She quietly continued. "Do you remember when I said I was feeling different? Kind of bloated?"

He immediately seemed more attentive as he seriously replied. "Yeah, I remember. Are you okay?" _Dammit. This is the worst time to get sick!_ "

She exhaled deeply after he finished, and glanced down at her hands for a moment. Aj was about to speak again, but she near inaudibly retorted. "Well… I'm not sick."

Furrowing his eyebrows, he asked. "Then… what's wrong?" _Wait…bloated..._ A sliver of realization hit him even before she answered his vague question.

Harumi quickly glanced around the area for potential eavesdroppers, before she carefully trudged on. "Uhm, well, you know we've been…sleeping together more often since the trip is kind of boring? Well, I think that it mi-"

Internally, Aj's stomach sank as he was starting to piece together what she was circumventing. He gingerly interrupted her and asked. "Harumi, are you pregnant?"

She just stared at him for a moment, almost if afraid to hear either of them confirm the fact. "I…Yes…I am Aj." Although by this point they had been happily together for over a year, neither of them were expecting, or even prepared, to procreate a life of their own.

Today, however, would be far more important, though that may have seemed impossible at the moment. "Message to all crew, this is Captain Wright speaking. Currently an explosion occured on Recon Shuttle Omega which was onboard a 100 meter comet fragment. Likely cause was a spark near a methane release. All onboard are presumed dead. Preparing for evasive manuevers. Debris and size of the object unknown."

_Who died? The crew's only about 50 strong… _He decided to concentrate on anything besides the warning, it was his break time, and he had no power over the ship's flight path. Nobody else was on the engine room floor. _Hell, if they can't fix the problems without me they should have stayed home_.

It had been three weeks since they went to their room, three weeks since they agreed to keep their future child. Much like every day since then, he found himself lost in a mental whirlwind of thoughts at what his life was shaping into. The child wasn't the only relevation from the event…it was a week since they both decided they could enjoy this unforeseen circumstance as a step towards a life together. A week after he found out he was a father, he proposed to his girlfriend in front of much of the crew. A week had passed since she had said yes.

For the first time in his life, Aj thought he was at peace. He was one of the lead engineers on one of the most important missions in Earth's short space-faring history. He had a wonderful girlfriend..._Fiance actually._ _How the hell am I going to tell Isa she's going to be an aunt?_ He was back at his room on his breaktime peacefully eating lunch as Harumi slept. _She doesn't even look pregnant…but it's probably too early to show anyway._ Thankfully, the ship's scuttlebutt did not pertain to medical matters, and the doctors had no trouble agreeing to secrecy, though visual cues would come soon enough. _I'll wait for the accusations on this one._

While reminiscing all the possible developments towards explaining the situation to Isa, Aj heard an explosion nearby. His quarters were some of the closest to the engine room; being one of the lead engineers, he decided it was his duty, and ran towards it.

Before he left the room, he heard a beautiful voice worriedly call out. "Aj what's going on? Where are you going?" She had jolted out of the bed, and was obviously looking at his back, but he didn't even turn around as he yelled out his intention to check the engine systems.

The travel from his room to the engines took less than twenty seconds, but accessing it was a different story. When he tried to access the room, though, it was locked. While attempting his access codes, Aj noticed none were working. **Priority Alpha** repetitively flashed on the vidscreen located near the entrance hatch.

_Priority Alpha!?_ He thought to himself in a terrified demeanor. _That means… the ship is either going down or damn close._

The short delay in his movement, however, allowed Harumi to catch up.

His fiancé frustrated demanded. "What are you doing, Aj? What's wrong with the ship?" Although she seemed slightly mad, most of her emotions seemed to be tailored to fear.

He began to reply, but the speakers quickly cut him off. "This is Captain Wright, head to the escape shuttles, I repeat, head to the escape shuttles! Debris from an unknown body have crashed into our engines. We currently are on tertiary power. This will last 20 minutes, afterwards, the ship will lose life support. Evacuate immediately!" There was a brief pause as a small explosion sounded over the intercom. "Damnit! Alex cut off the fuel leaks before-" The speaker shut off without another sound, whether intentionally or not was an unanswerable question. A new sound made its first appearance, a sound more terrifying than the warning of their imminent death. The VI on the ship started its countdown, telling all who can hear when they will die, minute by minute, unaware of its own demise when it reaches zero.

As soon as Aj heard the timer begin, he ordered. "Harumi, get to the shuttle and prep, I'll meet you there; I've got a couple things to get in my room."

To his great surprise, the petite woman defiantly answered. "No, I'm staying with you. I'm not going to risk leaving you behind." Aj wanted to tell her otherwise, remind her time was of the essence. The look in her deep brown eyes though quenched his reservations, as she seemed in no mood to compromise. In the brief staredown, the ship rocked, violently sending his lover into a small pool of leaking fluid. It splashed on her side, and Aj quickly helped her up. A simple nod was all they needed before they were sprinting back to their abode.

Although they were vocally quiet, no doubt her mind was racing just as quickly as his. _Dammit, dammit, dammit._ He furiously entered the room, all the while the engine room VI informing of the current state of affairs repetitively. **Life support offline in T-18** **minutes**. After quickly grabbing his picture and fitting it and the small frame into his backpack; he also remembered to snag his father's old pistol. It was an older model, but still packed a punch. It was a classic revolver, Smith & Wesson, 44 magnum, modified for military issue.

**T-16 minutes** informed the omnipresent VI while he ran the hallway, carrying only his picture, and his pistol. As the two reached the end of the hallway, he began looking for unlaunched life pods. Unfortunately, after a few minutes of searching, they discovered all of the life pods in this area had already been launched.

In a moment of intuition, he asked aloud to the computer. "VI, run response code: catastrophe. Where is the nearest operable shuttle?"

The VI made a beeping sound from an overhead speaker, then answered in a monotone voice. "These shuttles were used to evacuate crew members approximately 3.51 minutes ago." It paused for a moment before running another diagnostic. "Currently, there is only one operable shuttle on this level. There are only two crew members currently on this floor." Right before the couple was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the VI blared. **T-12 minutes**.

When Aj turned away from the speaker, he noticed Harumi had began to shake, and her countenance looked terrified; Aj grabbed her hand immediately, starting straight into her eyes, but her shaking continued. "We're going to make it Harumi. I promise."

She slowed down, and woefully looked down at her feet. Before Aj could add another piece of encouragement, Harumi looked up and closed in for a passionate kiss…right in the middle of the fray. After a few seconds, in a kiss what felt like a pleasant eternity, she broke the connection. Her eyes locked with his, and she softly enunciated. "No matter what happens, Aj, I love you."

While running towards their next goal, a sad voice came across the loudspeaker: "All remaining 16 crew members, this is Captain Wright. There is no reason to run to the shuttles. A few weeks ago, the rations and medical supplies allocated to the escape shuttles were removed and added to the main supply; it was an attempt to prolong our expedition as long as possible. We believed our equipment had been successfully tested out anything larger than a golf ball. I am sorry, there is no place to go. For what it's worth, I'm proud of all of your bravery to come on this mission. You did not fail, I, as your Captain, failed you."

For a moment, Aj thought it would be best to just sit down, hug his love, and wait for the inevitable death. But he couldn't. Something in his body drove him. He couldn't quit. His father would never quit. He could never quit, neither would Isabelle, or Harumi. He had to try. While he was contemplating his mortality. The V.I paid no courtesy, and ominously blared. **T-10 minutes.**

Harumi had stopped in her tracks, which he immediately reflected. He turned to see her face, and was mortified by her expressionless countenance. She looked already defeated. Before he could tug he ralong, she quietly said. "What's the point in running Aj. It would take us months to get back to Earth… we'd starve on the way."

_She's… she's right…. but we can't just…accept it. Maybe we can recover some of the food using one of the escape ships?! _He looked at his fiancée, gathering every ounce of beauty he could in case his wishful thinking didn't function. The brief pause caused her to worry slightly, and he calmly replied. "Harumi, you're going to have to trust me. We can get back home in one piece, we j- The lights around them blinked rapidly, then shut off; a few even exploded. The one above them was one of the minority which did explode, and caused a tiny shower of sparks to fall on the two. Time stood still as he tried as quickly as possible to push her out of the small combustibles, quickly remembering her earlier contact with the fuel leak, but his motion forward was moments to late. By the time Aj's hands reached her shoulders, his ears had already heard the most horrifying scream of his life.

Aj took a step back, almost unable to believe what was before him. Time stood still for a moment, the scene etched forever in his memory. Her lithe frame was surrounded by a blue orb of flames. He could see her face etched in unimaginable pain, but couldn't hear anything. Then after an eternity – but truly a fraction of a second, her scream intensified.

Frantically, he ran down the hall, closer towards the shuttles, searching for the one thing he needed most; there was no fire extinguishers nearby.

The screaming got louder. He ran even farther, but only found the remnants of an empty extinguisher. The failed attempt to abate the flames now was now a mockery to his helpless state. He yelled at the device, hoping there would be anything left inside…but…

The screaming started to abate.

He ran back at her, as fast as possible. The only thing he could decipher was the VI again emanating its heinous information. **T-8 minutes.**

When he arrived, he immediately fell to his knees, his eyes wet with tears.

The beautiful face he had come to know for years, eventually fall in love with, and recently hope a future with…was all that was left. Everything below her waist was charred, barely recognizable as flesh…it was now ash. Harumi's torso was charred, all the way to her neck. On that neck, he could see the gentle undulating motion of breathing.

Aj managed to lift himself off his knees, and made his way beside her, with no intentions of leaving. He was gently stroking her hair, his face drenched in fresh tears…when he heard a barely audible whisper…She barely-audibly managed. "Aj..."

Awoken from his self-destructive mental state, he quickly made eye contact, for what would be the last time, with his Harumi. He lifted her face, and noticed her eyes slowly close in an ominous fashion. He softly pleaded. "Please, stay with me Harumi."

Her eyes didn't open, but she managed to retort. "I'm here, but soon..."

Aj couldn't even respond… he could only look down at her torso and body; he felt his entire body give up on him. There was no possibility she could survive. As he sat, still gently caressing her hair, Harumi hoarsely whispered. "Please Aj, you can still make it."

He didn't even budge, only more tears welled in his eyes. "You know I won't leave you."

She finally opened her eyes, piercing directly into his and halting any more rebuttal. "You… have to… get out …of here. There…might be… a chance…" Her breathing was slowing down immensely, and it sounded harder and harder to continue…

_I…can't leave her..._ Aj pleaded with her. "Please Harumi, yo-"

Harumi gravelly spoke as her eyes once again shut, and he immediately shut up. "Aj… it hurts…so…so much…you know…" She coughed violently, and took a moment's break, but continued. "You know…I can't… make it…but you… you…can." With her one good hand, she reached over to his hip and grasped his pistol. Tears began to stream her pale cheeks as her own words repercussions hit her.

As her words hit him, the true reason she grabbed his pistol became obviously apparent. Aj's mind resisted the unthinkable, and he practically begged. "What do you mean? Harumi please don't give up."

She lovingly…but extremely quietly, replied. "Run, Aj. But please… you know…I can't…" She tugged again at his pistol, but seemed too weak to do much else.

Aj frantically yelled. "I can't do that!" He quickly began tearing exponentially greater than before.

"You have a chance still Aj, don't waste it." She said, finalizing her thoughts. "It hurts…so much…I…I…need you…to do it…Aj…please." Harumi used her last ounce of energy, and pulled the pistol out of his holster.

After a few moments, as he just stared at her motionless, Harumi gently reminded him. "Aj…"

When she spoke…Aj slowly put both of his hands around hers. He felt hers gently tug upwards, and he guided her hand to where she wanted it. The gun his father had proudly given him to protect himself, his mother, and his sister now was pointing at the love of his live. His hands began to tremble, as the true reality of what she wanted him to do was in front of him.

Aj just stared at her, and her eyes slowly creaked open. Before she could plead with him again, one of his hands dropped from hers, and cradled her chin. He gently guided her lips to his, and she warmly returned what would amount to their last act of love together.

As their lips parted, the last image he would remember of his love was her smiling countenance as she happily whispered. "I love you, Aj."

He whispered just as softly, and just as lovingly. "I love you too, Harumi."

Her eyes closed, and he knew she wanted him to do this….He felt his finger slowly tighten on the trigger, he felt her finger doing the same… the trigger's path felt like another eternity. Nearing the end, he closed his eyes, and looked away.

The pistol fired…Aj didn't want to look back…everything in his very being told him to not look back…but…After the shot, he looked back.

The beautiful woman he loved, who he'd grown up with for years…was gone. What remained of her was everywhere. He stared for a moment, trembling at the sight… unable to move.

Before he could break down again, he ran to the shuttle.

Anger, adrenaline, hate. Unimaginable hate towards nothing. Anger at everything.

When he reached the door, the last thing he heard was **T-2 minutes. Powering down life support.**

With everything Aj had, everything he didn't know he had, he entered the shuttle. He didn't question himself, for some reason, his body demanded to at least try to survive. The image of his lover's corpse kept flashing into his mind, it refused to let him escape the gnawing pain and guilt. For the next hour, it was a straight line away from the CSM Marathon. Inside the shuttle, he noticed an airtight suit, likely to explore the surface of any solar bodies. Aj managed to get it on, and was stuck in a sealed environment alone with his thoughts. His mind never left the image of his dearly beloved, or what was left of her.

Looking out the window, he managed to get a sight of a massive, but infinitesimally brief, fireball. The ship was gone. Everyone was either dead, or stranded. His shuttle had little fuel. There was nowhere to go. Nothing to see. Everything of care left him.

Aj stood there in the middle of the shuttle…_I'm a murderer… I…I killed Harumi…_He fell to his knees in a distraught wreck._ I killed the only woman I've ever loved… Why…didn't I save her…_ _why couldn't I_….In that specific moment in time, he finally gave up. Aj left his disheveled state, and turned off the shuttle's life support, deciding he'd rather end it before thinking of her anymore. _I'll see you soon, Harumi…_Aj died, flash frozen, thinking of the day he first saw her at the quinceanera, one of the last true days he had where everything was simple…

He did not know, inside his body, for four years, there had been significant changes.

He did not know, to every nerve in his body, a wire, a superconductor, was around it.

He did not know, in his brain, wires ran down along it, to every organ, bone, and gland in his body. They had built themselves by his mother's orders. By his mother's direct action. He was not the most advanced nanotechnologist.

For four years, they intertwined and obeyed their original commands. His mom wanted a super human, one who could directly interface with technology while empowering his organic traits. Titanium intertwined throughout his bones, throughout his skin. It would take far longer. For the current process to fully materialize, it would take over 120 years. These small robots would become a part of him, but lose their program when complete. They would die, and become a part of him. He did not need to be alive for them to work. They didn't know he was "dead".

45 AU away, his mother never knew her son might actually succeed. When she saw the data, confirming a century of work to fully integrate, she gave up on him. He was still useful, but not the dynasty she wanted. She was wrong. She would receive the report; the entire crew of the CSM Marathon was killed by an object no larger than a basketball. She hid the files of his...addition..., deep in the CIA, encrypted for only her, and the head of the agency.

A sister would never see her brother again. The young college girl was left abandoned by everyone she had ever loved… everyone she had ever cared about…Her life began to spiral downhill.

A few years, a decade, a century? We will never know. In that timespan, a small human-shuttle shaped craft approached a large, blue, and unknown device. The nanotechnology embedded in Aj's very being was acknowledged by the mass relay. The destination was unknown, the nanodes unable to comprehend this new energy source.

The shuttle miraculously survived the light-speed transit. In the 2040s, shuttles were armored head to toe since they were only used during delicate or unsafe missions, which included abandoning ship.

The seemingly lifeless remains of Antonio Sanchez entered the Valhallan Threshold.

His shuttle, inside, his body, remained rotating around the Raheel-Leyya system. The nanodes finished, and they became him physiologically part of him. They had kept his genetic material, kept his cells, from decomposing for 125 years. They could keep it without help for likely for another.


	3. Quarians and Space Junk

Thanks for the reviews! Thankfully, on this story, I have no 'definite' subjects, so feel free to swing by anything what pops to mind. Any critic is a good one!

"We have successfully relocated to the fleet to the Raheel-Leyya system", exclaimed Admiral Shala'Raan.

"Excellent, we should immediately dispense mining craft to the Micah system and hold the fleet in orbit here", retorted Admiral Han'Gerrel.

Since none of the five admirals wanted to debate a logical decision -at least for today- the orders held.

"Is my daughter done on your engines, Han? I think she would be more suited aboard a scout vessel until this system is determined safe without a doubt." exclaimed Admiral Rael'Zorah, after the brief meeting.

"What? You doubt my ship's integrity? I'll have you know my ship is one of the safest, stronge-"

"Bosh'tet! Will you shut up for just one second, Keelah, I do not question your ship nor its ability. I merely state that Tali will never be a good leader without practice. We have never tested her command on a space expedition, and now is a perfect opportunity"

"Very well, I shall assign her temporary command under one of the scouts" Han replied annoyed.

"Will she lead the squad?"

"I have Kal'Reegar currrently on it, he has proven himse-"

"Exactly, it's a simple excursion. We all know it is safe. She has always been overcautious, which may serve as a benefitial trait"

"Fine, I will see to it she leads. But do not expect to command my crew, Admiral. She is your daughter, but she is vas Neema. She is my crew"

"Yes, I know. This is important, you know very well the Alarei requires my full attention"

"The orders are sent, and the scouts await her command"

Although he was not very pleased with a near demand by his _friend_ Rael, he did understand the desire to see his daughter succeed. If only he knew how much she has changed since her pilgrimage with that blasted human.

* * *

The past months had not been pleasant for a certain young quarian. She was expected to be a leader, but she never really took to it. Every mission she had led so far, under her father and Admiral Daro'Xen, had ended in at least one casualty. Most involved a substantial loss of life, but for some reason, they praised her courage and 'leadership'. Some people, she believed, were better following than leading. The quarian system had enough people trying to tell everyone what to do anyway. What was that old human saying, she had thought to herself many a time, _too many chiefs and not enough Indians?_

Tali'Zorah vas Neema dutifully was reviewing the diagnostics for the Neema's drive core when her omnitool blinked. Noticing the message was from Han, she quickly stopped her task and checked the log.

"Per Admiral Rael'Zorah's request, you are instructed to lead the scout patrol on the Raheel-Leyya system. Three ships await your command, the Jilla will be your command vessel."

'Keelah she thought to herself. Why does he want me to lead a scouting squad? I belong with the engines. I can't say no, though.' Reluctantly she made way for the docking module provided with the message, trying to as quickly as possible. Nothing was the same on the fleet. It used to be home, it used to have a family. Mom was gone, dad was never around. Her only friends were a marine, always stuck with his duties, and Aunt Raan, who was often busy as well due to being an Admiral. _What is my families obsession with being an Admiral.._

Although it had been nearly two years -short by a couple human months- she still hadn't gotten over the loss. Not only can she barely keep contact with her friends, but they seem to be flat out gone. Wrex was on Tuchanka, that's all she knew, but she hoped for the best. Out of all the krogan she had ever met, he was the first she did not scream and run away from. It's a start. Heck, she even considered him a friend towards the end.

Garrus hadn't spoken to her for nearly a year. He was one of her closest friends, partially due to the shared rations, but he was a genuinely decent person. She remembered when she told him how he couldn't be a Spectre. "Too close to the crazy human Spectre according to those assholes", he said.. The last she knew he was trying to be a vigilante.

Liara kept contact, but she never seemed personal. It was like trying to talk to her dad, but less assignments and more meaningless words. She did send a few interesting shotgon choke and clip upgrades though, so she must at least be okay, right?

Ashley had taken the loss the hardest. Although scuttlebutt hadn't had much time, a few crew members noticed her extended stay in the captain's quarters before Illos. Tali tried to help console her after the crash, but Ashley could never get over the fact that Tali had apparently and unknowingly 'flirted' with the captain. We are a very social people, she had replied, but Ashley would have none of it. "Get the hell away from me you suit rat!" Her possessiveness rivaled a bonded quarian, and it did not hide the hurtful tone she used. Felz'elt could bring out the worst in anyone, apparently it even worked in humans.

She did not even notice when Kal'Reegar tried to acknowledge her near her destination. "Today is going to be a long day", she said alound, barely audible, unaware of his presence.

'What crawled into her suit and died?' Kal nearly said alound, but managed to stop himself. "Reporting for duty ma'am, and respectfully, it should be a simple run. There's nothing here worth fighting over."

Nearly jumping from the reply, she wearily replied, "Yes, I hope so. I suppose father is trying to groom me until I am as 'perfect' as him". The venomous way she stated the word startled Kal, but it was not a new thing. Her personal dislike, although deeply loved as a biological father, for his parenting skills was well known. Hell, Kal was like her brother, permanently in pemla'tiyl. Whispers among the fleet had always pegged it as more, but neither seemed to desire the fact.

"Don't worry about him ma'am, you'll do fine no matter what the task", he stated. _I hope he hasn't hacked her coms_. "But he only cares for you, you know he wants you to become an Admiral someday"

"Yes, I know. I am supposed to become a 'great leader' like him." Sighing, she added, "Let's go, are you heading the Maer'zol?"

"I will, if you allow it."

"Of course Kal, are we ready?"

"Yes ma'am, we're awaiting your go ahead."

"Tell them to be ready for departure in five minutes, I'll head to the Jilla. May the ancestors guide and protect us."

"Keelah se'lai"

* * *

The three ships were small, at least by quarian standards. They all were of the same class, being 10 meters long and 3 meters wide.

Thankfully, the star system was as uninhabited as most of the scouting party had believed. Nothing besides small debris, at least they couldn't attack. When she glimpsed at the star, however, she saw a small dot. The dot, ever so slowly, seemed to be moving. 'If I can see it, but it's not showing up on the radar, it has to be big and far away' Tali thought to herself.

Inputting the visual coordinates for the small speck, she exclaimes, "Kal, do you see that?"

"Yes Tali, but I think it may be just a large piece of debris. I am reading no heat signature."

"The object is nearly as large as one of our scouting ships, is it not worth a closer examination?"

"Honestly ma'am, I don't think it will be anything important. But also, I don't see a reason not to. We haven't found anything, and it's only about 10 minutes away. We can divert the Maer'zol immediately at your request."

"Diverting the Jilla, tell the Naetor to hold position 5 seconds behind us"

"Understood ma'am, eta 9 minutes 53 seconds"

_Well, maybe it's a large scrap of metal. Give me a few kg of eezo, and that thing will fly like the Normandy!_ Unfortunately, even the name brought a slight tear. She missed that ship, she missed those...aliens. They weren't just aliens, they were her friends. She would likely never see them again likely.

* * *

After about seven minutes, a message comes from the Maer'zol, "Ma'am? The silhouette resembles an Alliance vessel, but it is not the same design and it's a little smaller. It even looks melted from here, maybe even sealed. Orders?"

An Alliance vessel? Here? And they don't make shuttles smaller in that design. "Kal, I'm ordering an immediate border party. I will personally lead it, but I wish for you and three marines to accompany. Make sure one has a fusion cutter, we do not know if it is sealed. Tali out"

After closing the distance, the two small ships arrived at near the ship. The Naetor took defensive positions two minutes from the craft. The Maer'zol pulled along side the Jilla for a team relocation. Kal and his marines quickly entered the docking tube towards the Jilla.

Once he set foot inside, he stated, "Ma'am, I brought my three finest, and we await your orders."

_Your finest_? _Seems he does play favorites_. Shaking her thoughts, she ordered, "We will attach the docking tube towards the starboard side of the craft. It's only a third the size of our vessel, and our clamp barely fits. Scans indicated a door, but as expected, it is sealed shut. The cause of this is unknown, but the craft inside may or may not be safe. Make sure to turn on your thermal units, it is expected life support is not active. I expect full defensive positions, and we will cut out a small area to proceed inside the ship, any questions?" After a brief, and silent pause, ship rotated towards the correct side, and began the docking tube insertion.

Once they finally got near the craft, the small 5 quarian detachment just looked, in somewhat of an awe. The craft had no obvious kinetic barriers, but seemed a near solid piece of metal. Although the scans indicate a hollow ship space inside, the outside looked as though it had seen the business end of a very large torch.

"Ma'am", Kal stated after arriving at the ship, "any specifics once we're inside the craft?"

"Search carefully, I do not think a ship in this condition will have any survivors, but it cannot hurt to be careful"

"The door will be open in 5" , a marine soon thereafter exclaimed, while Tali assisted with the other end.

Immediately when the small 2 by 1 meter opening was completed, Kal jumped in the lead, weapon ready. Although he doubted anything could live in the craft, his training against a non-organic enemy had always prepared him for unexpected surprises. Thankfully, the main compartment of the shuttle was empty. "Clear !".

The rest followed, and quickly nothing of interest was discovered. The door to the pilot seat was shut, but not by heat. "We need to get this door open, but I can't find any locking interface?" Tali said confused. _Confused with tech? Keelah, today couldn't be wor-_

"Ma'am, should we just cut it?" retorted Kal.

"Okay, but use the smaller designation, we do not know what could be there, let me try to scan the room,"

Scanning a room behind a solid piece of metal was usually not the best circumstance, but it was only a fraction the thickness of the hull.

"Okay Kal, actually I'm reading an object behind the door. It's composition is at least 25% titanium, but I cannot determine the rest. A new geth a possibility, stand alert"

"Always am alert, ma'am. Opening the door"

After a short expendature with her torch, she cut out another quarian-sized pathway. What awaited on the other side, however, was not what was expected. Once the marines behind saw there was no danger, they took protective positions along the cut in the wall. Only Kal remained behind with Miss Zorah.

Sitting on a seat, hugging his knees, was a two legged creature. It was a bit larger than any she or the other marines were used to. The suit was unfamiliar as well, it seemed very clumsy and overly thick. The mask did have a small see-through slit, but it only revealed lifeless eyelids. Whether it was a slight blue hue from the cold or species was unknown. The creature held a small pouch-like device in his hands.

"What is that?" asked Kal.

"I don't know, let me check" Tali replied. Scanning the hominid, she gasped.

The scans revealed a humanoid shape, but it was extremely different. The thing had two nervous systems, and its bones were as dense as the Neema's hull. She remembered having to scan Shepard on the Citadel invasion. The bosh'tet took a round to the spleen and didn't even slow down. And then that one time Kaiden almost passed out from overusing his biot-

"Ma'am?" Kal interrupted her tangent.

Slightly startled, Tali replied, "What? Oh yes, I don't know what it is Kal, but it has five digits. It has to be human or asari. Well, it's not an asari."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's got a... well... it's a male"

"Well, that's good to know, anyway, what do you mean you don't know though?" Kal was most definitely no scientist.

"The suit, it has no titanium content", she replied. After no response, she goes to layman's terms. "Remember, this...person...is a fourth titanium."

"Is it a human geth?" he replied, still unsure.

"I don't know. But it's got a bag stuck in its hands. I think we should bring it back"

"We can tow the shuttle with one of our ships"

"Well, this thing. Should we bring it to an Admiral?"

"Of course ma'am." Kal replied. "Marines !" The three other quarians who were seemingly oblivious to the interaction arrived by the door-hole. "We need you to transport this human to the flotilla. Bring it to the medical bay. No doubt the Alliance will want their people back. No questions"

After all saluted and began lifting the thing, still lifelessly clutching onto a sack, both Kal and Tali could hear, "This thing weighs more than than your bondmate Pra-" then a very audible smack, followed by "You det kazuat !". The rest of the conversation could not be heard, but two disgruntled marines would likely require a sparring session afterwards.

_It's almost time to wake up!_

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Det kazuat: **Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. The Otquer, a large predatory lizard, will pass its meal neatly wrapped in a membranous tissue. Inside the sack, the enzymes used to break down the meat of the prey while still in the lizard continue to act as a stimulant keeping the indigestible brain synapses of its last meal still working until the sun dries the sack out.

**Felz'elt:** Term used to describe the state of mind of a person who has just lost their lifemate. Literal translation: Sundered souls. A condition very close to the human emotion of grief when a loved one dies but at a depth that very few humans could experience. This state of being will be always present after their lifemate has joined the Ancestors but can vary in effect. The longer the lifemates were together, the lesser overall effect it has, as there are more memories to lessen the pain.

**Bosh'tet:** Animal, native to Rannoch. With no insect life, other species of life had to fill the niches that on earth fell to the insects. One such niche was the dung beetle. A bosh'tet falls into the category of roller on earth as it moves the dung found to a central location. Though differing in colors, from the green/yellow of the cooler climates to the blue/white in the more tropical areas, they are the same species. Known for their apparent inability to distinguish between dung and small rocks, it is considered extremely stupid. Many have been found dead, surrounded by small rocks, as it tried to feed on them.

**Pemla'tiyl:** Term for courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the mind, the first of the three phases that lead to bonding. The period of time where the couple learns of one another through a deep sharing of thoughts. May lead to bonding or just a very deep friendship.


	4. SemiSynthetic Phoenix

After letting Kal and his marines run back to their ship, Tali immediately called her father to inform her of the new.. _cargo._

"Yes Tali? I'm quite busy right now, what is the reason for this?" Rael answered the call. _Such a loving and caring father._

"Yes **Admiral**, I found a human body on a small shuttle, the shuttle is curr-"

"Why does this matter Tali? Call the Alliance and tell them yourself that you found one of them! You must learn how to take action when the situation demands it" he interrupted.

"Maybe if you listened to me before interrupting you'd know!" she yelled.

"Tali'Zorah that is no way to speak to your father, nor an Admi-"

"You hagrr'hizs! This body is not fully organic" she yelled, louder than before.

"What did you ca-. Wait, not organic? Explain youreslf this instant!" he yelled back almost as loud.

"I've been trying to!" _He's more infuriating than Admiral Koris_ she thought to herself. "The body has a composition of 25% titanium, and small amounts of a non-perovskite type superconductor surrounding his nerves. I do not think he is Alliance, the vessel we found looked as though it came into close contact with a star"

"The geth are approximately 60% titanium, and their wiring is merely fiber optics, is this an upgraded human version? How do you know the Alliance is not conducting their own experiments, trying to make their own version of the geth" _After saving the Council, and stopping a geth incursion? Do they have new masters?_

"I do not know, but I am docking at the Neema in 10 minutes, I'll keep the, unit, on the Jilla until you arrive. I would like to examine it also"

"Very well, I am contacting Daro'Xen to-"

"NO! She will destroy it!"

"Tali, to properly understand the unit, we must-"

"Father, it isn't fully a machine! I saw its eyelids. It has skin !"

"Skin? Are you sure it's not a synthetic pseudo-dermis? We do not know how advanced their illegal research had gotten to before they stopped"

"I can't tell, but I do not think those are affected by the cold as this one seemed. And it is wearing a suit, why would a machine need a suit? It had to be a living thing father."

"Very well, but do not leave it on the Jilla, I have requested an empy medical room on board the Neema. I'll be there momentarily" Rael immediately cut the communication to end any more discrepancies.

_Not even a good bye or good job? I should have called Autie Raan instead..._ she thought to herself.

Since the body was recovered, it had been stored on board the Jilla's decontamination chamber. Kal's orders had been to ask no questions. Thankfully, a human body, supposedly Alliance, did not raise much suspicion. Unknowingly, the chamber's increased temperature compared to the rest of the shuttle for a steady 15 minutes had raised the core temperature of the body from a nice and toasty near absolute-zero to a more tolerable 0 degrees C (32 F).

On board the other vessel, half way to the Neema, Tali heard a loud 'thump' and a yell. Unfortunately, Tali had a tendency to hack her unit's communication systems. She did not appreciate idle chatter during her missions.

"Wasu, do you think I forgot what you said about my bondmate?" an angry Prazza barked.

"No you fre'eg, striking someone when they are not even looking. You are path-" he managed to reply.

"Both of you! Shut the hell up or I will go over to the Maer'zol and make you!" Tali yelled. She had ordered into the com as soon as she heard the arguement. Without waiting for a reply, she increased the speed towards the Neema, likely irritated at more than just those two.

Kal could only grin as the two marines scowled at each other throughout the rest of the way. Thankfully, neither wanted to face the wrath of Tali'Zorah vas Neema, even if they were on a seperate ship. That was only temporary. It wasn't because she was the Admiral's daughter, but she could easily beat both of then in hand to hand combat. Apparently she had trained with a turian back on her old pilgrimage ship.

* * *

Finally, after a seemingly endless and silent trip, the shuttles arrived at the Neema. After confirming their identity, both Kal and Tali left their respective ships, and the others (pilots and three marines) went their seperate ways. For some unknown reason, the Maer'zol speeded past the others, seemingly abandoning the Neema as soon as possible.

Quickly, Tali and Kal pushed the body -which was placed on a gurney- towards the Neema's medical bay.

"I'll report the success of the mission to the Admirals. Should I mention this body?" Kal stated at the front of the entrance.

"No Kal, not yet. Let them know about the shuttle, and try to convince them it's an old Alliance unit" Tali replied. They placed the body in the room, activated the decon-unit as a precaution. Tali waited outside while Kal parted ways.

Soon after Kal saluted and scurried off amidst the rabid flood of the quarian walkways, Rael popped up.

Immediately before even opening the door, the Admiral glared at his daughter. "If you ever insult me again Tali'Zorah, I will make sure you are placed on refuse duty for an entire ship cycle. Do you understand?" he barked.

Sighing in defeat, she wearily replied, "Yes father" _That stubborn, inconsiderate-_

"Good, now let's check this unit you speak of. I trust it won't be a waste of my time." he retorted, in a much happier mood.

"It is waiting inside. I have decontaminated the chamber. The body should be at normal room temperature" she said while barely hiding her scorn.

Without a reply, Rael'Zorah opened the chamber. Before him, sat a large suited body. Quickly, he noticed the five digits on the hand, confirming that it was indeed either an asari or human. After a few tedious minutes cutting the weak points of the suit, they were ready to remove it. The bag in his hand was placed on a desk nearby. Whatever this poor bastard had, Rael thought to himself, could wait until later.

The body was quickly tied down to the table, both hands and legs, in case of a jolt from the ship. Also, his head was held down at the forehead, as gently as a curved rod could be.

"Keelah! I thought the suit was oversized, but this human actually might have been cramped in it!" Tali exclaimed after seeing a 6'6" (~196cm) frame.

"Yes, yes. He is a large specimen. I do not see anything else unusual though."

"Look at his skin! It is not the normal color. It shines, if only a little"

"That is... interesting. Do you have the incision cutter?"

"Father! He has a large amount of metalloids. Is using an electricly enhanced blade really a wise decision?" she exclaimed, sounding genuinely concerned for his health.

"I did not ask you a question child. Do I have to repeat myself or are you ready to take a break from leading the research teams?" Rael scorned.

"Yes father, don't say I didn't warn you"

As Tali would remember, the blade, teeming with small sparks of electricity. As if on cue, a small glint caught her attention, a small speck of light reflected from his left hand. She could only watch in fascination and worry as the blade approached the human's sternum. Immediately as the blade touched his body, it went silent.

Electricity is only limited by the conductive material it propogates throughout. Immediately as the blade touched the skin, the skin of which was semi-conductive, the current passed throughout his dermis. Picoseconds later, the current had breached the skin altogether, activating the nerves. The superconducting wires throughout his body helped the small current disperse throughout his body. Nerves, not wires, near the superconductor tasted their first stimulation in over 140 years right after. Genetically intact, energetically dormant, the nerves were in pristine condition. The current had already activated the pace-maker cells before his brain even registered the sudden stimulation. The first synapse fired. Antonio Jackson Sanchez, the biologically normal human being, who had been artificially 'upgraded' by osteoblast-resembling nanotechnology, was alive. He was unaware of his own mortality, or lack there of. Who knows when a person is dead, or when a person still lives. His heart beat for the first time. His mind, dreamed for the first time, but it was not of his Harumi.

"What the hell? Tali what did you do to my blade?" Rael instantly replied.

"I do not know fa-" and then it happened.

The hand twitched, ever so slightly.

"FATHER!" Tali screamed in panic.

"Yes, what? What's wrong?" Rael immediately replied. _Even a lousy father fears for his daughter._

"His hand, it moved !"

"Probaly the electricity from the blade, I think it short-circuted"

Without even aknowledging his response, Tali lifted her omni-tool and readied the human-physiology tailored medical scanner program. The program came from Dr. Chakwas as Tali was slightly experienced as a field medic, even before the Pilgrimage. The information displayed nearly made the young quarian faint.

"His heart... it's..beating"

"What? How can you be certain? That is for quarian phy-"

"No, I got this during my pilgrimage, it is specifically for humans"

Before he could glance at the screen, both heard something they had not expected. Normal bodies do not reanimate themselves with a small jolt of electricity. A gasp for air.

"WE NEED A MEDICAL TEAM THIS INSTANT !" Rael screamed into his com unit.

Right after the yell, he awoke from his slumber. Into his eyes, light shone for the what felt like the first time. The time had come, the project had succeeded. Everyone who knew what he was, everything he had ever known, was gone. He was the first human to ever survive a trip through a mass relay. His blurry vision barely made out a clear, white ceiling. It almost looked like soundproofing material.

Before his first gasp of air, Aj began to gain some sort of cognitive thought. He began dreaming. He remembered Harumi's screaming, he remembered the fire. He went back to his past; he remembered when he completed officer's school. He remembered his sister, the beautiful dress she wore to her 15th birthday. He remembered when he first kissed Harumi. But then, he remembered the dream.

Tali was frozen after glancing at the heart rate. However, when she lifted her gaze to his face, she shrieked. The eyelids, still ever so slightly freezer-burnt from the previous cold, moved. A split-second later, they ever so slightly creaked open.

"He's awake!" she called at her father who was furiously yelling at his com for levo-based medical supplies. He most likely hadn't heard, or even ignored her. Luckily the fleet always had a small amount of food and medical supplies for any unfortunate traveler they might stumble across. The poorest people usually are willing to give the most to anyone in need.

His hand started to open and close, he could feel it. He couldn't see very well, only a blur. He heard, something. It sounded mechanical, it was high pitched, but, different? It was a sound he had never heard before. There were two things making the sounds. He couldn't move his head, but he could clearly hear the mechanical chirping. His breathing increased, and he could feel his feet. He tried to lift his leg, then his arm, but neither would move. He was too weak to resist whatever held him down. He noticed he could now move his mouth, and although his head was still stationary, he tried to speak.

In a near inaudible voice, Aj whispered, "Where am I?" to nobody in particular. Rael had not even heard the human, as he was still in a deep conversation with the medical team en route to his location. He had not expected the being to actually regain conciousness, much less cognitive thought.

She gasped when she heard the voice. Although it was barlely a whisper, quarian suits indeed amplified sounds if need be, and thankfully Tali had hers set to a higher standard than her father. She surmised he did not have a translator. Tali had spent months onboard the Normandy, and although it was many months ago, so she knew a slight amount of English. She knew how to treat patients, all they needed to know was that they were going to be okay.

He had closed his eyes, unable to keep them open. The light burned, his body was still mostly numb. He still heard the chirping, but it seemed one of the voices had stopped. Then he heard a voice. The voice sounded distorted, like the other, but it was not chirping. It was talking to him.

In the best English she could muster, she replied, "You are safe".

All he could do was a scream of terror.

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Hagrr'hizs: **Term used to refer to the intellectually challenged. Literal translation: Forever Children. Mentally retarded or damaged people of the quarian race. Though infrequent, more of these special needs children have been born lately.

**Fre'eg: **Curse word. Literal translation: Clinging waste. In old earth english, a dingleberry.


	5. At Their Mercy

Rael heard something he had not heard in a long time, a scream. Not one of fear, of pain, but of helplessness, like a live test subject about to have concious, unmedicated surgery. His first reaction was to reach for his daughter.

With a full force, the nightmare, or what he thought was a nightmare, immediately came to mind. He was trapped -again- in a small room. The voice was different, but it was distorted. A voice, slightly distorted via mechanical means. One sounded deeper than the other, almost like a male and a female. He was unsure, but his body knew exactly what it was going to do.

Epinepherine is one hell of a molecule, and Aj's adrenal glands agreed at that moment. A massive increase in this savior molecule, followed by a powerful stimulation towards his sympathetic nervous system (flight-or-fight reflexes) caused nearly every muscle to tense up in his body. _I didn't tell anyone? Why am I here? Not those goddamn nee-_

She saw something on his eye what made her gasp, moisture. The ..machine?... looked like it was starting to cry. The young quarian girl, who thought she would be able to calm him down, was frozen in place. She wasn't scared, she wasn't angry, she was, sad? Sad this thing wakes up, from whatever hell it came from, and the first thing he hears instantly made caused him a deep pain. She could not help but feel sorry for whatever it was. Whatever she could do, she would try. She knew what it was like to be saved from a terrifying situation.

"TALI'ZORAH GET THE SEDATIVES !" Rael yelled out. However, he noticed something what changed how he looked at the situation. He saw a tear leave the creature's eye. Geth do not cry. He had taken out his Predator pistol and aimed it at the body._ What the hell is going on with this thing?_

Without reopening his eyes to locate the sound -he knew he was in a shitty situation - he managed to yell, "Get the fuck away from me. No more needles, no more injections !" He could feel his strength returning, but it was different. He felt, stronger? He felt something holding him down, but he felt no pain as he pushed with all he had against it. He felt groggy and uncoordinated, and knew his body was operating at near minimum capacity. He tried, and tried, all in vain, to lift his arms, leg, and head. Panic set in, like the moment a human is forced to breathe a gasp of water while drowning. Twitching, twisting, contorting as best he could, he resisted whoever that bitch was. It had been over four years, why did she come back now? _What did she do to Isabelle? Damnit!_

Rael seemed... perplexed. _What the hell happened to this thing... No more injections_? I'll ask it later.

Tali had quickly grabbed two doses worth of the medication, and headed back towards the patient.

Aj finally stopped flailing, and just focused on moving his arms up. His eyes opened. It was not a small slit, but wide open. He needed to see, there was light. Who was this sadistic experimenter?

Tali's experience with humans taught her most field medics either hold a patient's hand or, if unable, ask the patient questions. She would do both, this one seemed ready to burst. At that moment, one of the beams holding him in place creaked from strain. _Keelah._

A moment after opening his eyes, he felt a small hand rest on his. It was, unfamiliar. It didn't really feel like skin. He gently closed his on it, but it felt... still strange. Was it the shape? Closing his hand was more of a reaction, than an act of submition. He managed to glimpse over at the dark figure. It had a somewhat purple cloth on it's head. While turning, he noticed there was another facing him, but farther away, and pointing something at him.

"Who are you?" he managed, more struck in fear now than panic.

"Stay still" Tali whispered, and then reached for one of the sedatives. Little did she know, syringes had not changed much throughout the galaxy, no matter the species.

The voice, it wasn't angry, but concerned? He hoped that he wasn't hearing things.

"Why?" he quietly retorted.

Startled by the sudden change in topics, Tali decided now was the time to at least try to conversate with the human. First, she looked at the human, and only knew one word to possibly help him understand. "Talk". Then she looked at her father and stated in a gentle tone, "Father, can you please get me an omnitool? I do not think he has one, and he's trying to talk to me."

Admiral Rael'Zorah never took orders. He had most of the Admiralty board under his claws. However, this time was different. For the first time in a long, long myriad of choices, he defered the choice to his daughter, and began to leave the room. Before leaving, he tapped his daughter's shoulder. "Take this", and handed her the Predator he had earlier pointed at the primate.

After hearing her tell him, "Talk", he was confused. _Does she want to talk, or does she want me to stop? _What the hell is all this...Aj watched the interaction, and heard more mechanical chirping. Where these things robots? He stil was in a daze, but he saw the second figure walk towards the other, which he could now assume as a female - _breasts always are a dead giveaway_. He noticed she was given something by the other figure, nodded, and the male walked off. The silouette looked slightly familiar? A PISTOL? His blood pressure, which had lowered to nearly-normal levels, resurged with more adrenaline.

A calm silence had reached the room.

Tali merely nodded her head and took the pistol. When she attained the pistol, she felt him tense up and squeeze her hand with an almost painful grip. _Well, at least he knows what a gun is._ Once her father left the room, she released his hand -which was an intimate gesture to quarians, but she knew humans were more... 'touchy'.

Watching the female gently put away the pistol on the table -_HEY that's my backpack over there!._ The sight of something familiar, even if it only held ammunition, a pistol, and a picture, eased his mind. Unfortunately, today would continue to be a difficult situation for his poor heart; prolonged muscular overstimulation is not a great way to wake up from a century and a half nap.

Tali looked back, and saw him staring at the backpack. She herself had been intrigued by the bag, it obviously did not carry much. However, quarians do not touch what others own without permission. She decided it could wait, she needed to make sure he wouldn't try to hurt her or her ship. She walked over, and sat by him.

The silence continued, Aj could only stare at the person. _Why won't she answer my questions? Maybe she doesn't know English_?

"Aj" he stated still in a whisper.

Tali had been focused on his arm, the glint was mesmorizing, but strange. So far, the human had done things no machine could have done. It showed emotion. At the sound of his voice, she yelped and jumped up. She thought he was done talking. Nervous at the situation, and unsure what to do with her father in transit, she nervously began wringing her hands.

"Aj" he repeated. He was sure that whoever it was, she was timorous. However, at this instant, he saw something that would change his life forever, though for now he wouldn't know it. He was about to tell her to relax, but looked carefully at her hands, her digits exactly. _Three fingers!?_ Looking carefully, he noticed that the middle and index fingers seemed to be gone. He was pondering the multitudes of ways that both hands could acquire the exact same disfiguration, but decided to let it rest. Nobody likes to be noticed for being different.

She looked at him, confused, hands still wringing, but slower now. _Ay-Jay_? Those were two letters of the human alphabet, she remembered, but it still didn't make sense. She decided to stretch her knowledge of English to its furthest. In human customs, people normaly introduce their names before hand, quite similar to her own, so she decided to take the initiative, so she thought.

She pointed to herself, then said "Tali, name is Tali"

He was surprised, maybe she knows a little more English than I thought? He decided to reiterate using her own strange syntax. "Aj, name is Aj" and smiled, hoping it would alleviate themselves from the tense situations prior to. In nearly every culture he knew about, smiling was a way to make it known you had positive intentions.

Tali noticed him smile, and she smiled back._ Ugh stupid girl, he cannot see your face! Well, at least he doesn't seem as scared anymore._ She had decided he wasn't going to kill her, unless he was the crazy smile-at-you-while-he-disarticulates-your-liver kind of guy. She then turned around and walked towards the backpack. It might make him more comfortable to get his stuff back, maybe? It was worth a shot, far better than trying to yell at him like her father likely would do. So far the situation had been going a lot smoother without that bosh'tet.

Aj was by far no master at body language, but he noticed her relax a lot more after he smiled. When she turned away, like most guys, the first thing glanced at was her butt. Only one word could be said to describe his emotions impressed. _Wait, what the hell is wrong with me, I don't even know if she's about to kill or torture me ! Damnit, looking at her ass is immoral... not what Harumi would appreciate..._ For a split-second, he remembered the image, a half-burnt corpse with only a head still intact. The head carried the face of the woman he loved. The woman who would have carried his child. The woman he shot. He killed her, he pulled the trigger. He murdered the only woman he had ever loved. Why was he still alive? A few more tears managed to escape his eyes before he was able to focus on the current situation.

Thinking back to the events what had transpired, he thought to himself, _it looks like they're just as scared of me as I am of them._ He noticed the girl walk towards his backpack. Oddly, on a metal floor, the footing seemed... quiet. A suit made of metal walking over a metal beam should at least make a slight sound, right? He glanced down, and saw what looked like a three-toed cat; it even looked like they had sharpened tips! Okay, so first the hands now the feet. That little thing isn't even a toe? It looks more like a bird's hallex... and they chirp...**WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE**? He was choked for words, he did not want to offend... it. But he also noticed she was going for the table, the table which had one strange looking gun on it. The table which also had his .44 and his most prized posession. Now was not the time to yell again. He would kindly ask what the fuck is going on before ranting at the strangeness.

Before he could articulate a response, what looked like the same male figure as before stormed in at the doorway, along with 3 others. They frantically swarmed him, and had these strange glowing yellow things in their hands. The mechanical chirping he had heard earlier commenced with a full swing. He glanced over at the familiar, chirper -the girl-, and saw her run towards the head of the group yelling in the same strange language. The male raised his hand, and chirped something in a calm tone.

While he was glancing at the small situation, he almost felt protective for the girl. She had done nothing to him, and had tried her best to make him comfortable. He looked back at from that towards the 3 suited figures surrounding him. The last thing he remembered was a cool, relaxing feeling along with the one lingering question..._where am I_?

He drifted off to sleep, this time, not of fear, or anger, but of confusion. He almost felt safe, the feeling of whatever drug they put into him gave him a sensation he had almost forgotten. It felt like he was high.

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Bosh'tet:** Animal, native to Rannoch. With no insect life, other species of life had to fill the niches that on earth fell to the insects. One such niche was the dung beetle. A bosh'tet falls into the category of roller on earth as it moves the dung found to a central location. Though differing in colors, from the green/yellow of the cooler climates to the blue/white in the more tropical areas, they are the same species. Known for their apparent inability to distinguish between dung and small rocks, it is considered extremely stupid. Many have been found dead, surrounded by small rocks, as it tried to feed on them.


	6. Communication Breakdown

"FATHER! What are you doing?" Tali screamed.

"Relax child, we are not hurting him. We need to make sure it is not a threat to the fleet." he replied.

"His name is Aj" she whispered.

"What? Do you name everything you see or is it just combat drones and humans?" _hah! They are much the same thing, actually._

"Keelah...He told me."

"How can you understand it? I have yet to locate a translator."

"I learned a little on my Pilgrimage. You do remember I served on a human ship, or are you too busy to-"

"Stop this instant ! Now, it is named Aj? Very well. We shall see after some thorough scanning. If you really did talk to it, stay in the room. We do not want another temper tantrum from this metal primate"

Tali was about to retort, but there was no point. He was her father, and an Admiral of the fleet. What could she do? _Refuse duty, bosh'tet probaly would actually do just that..._However, for some strange reason, she felt protective of this alien. She knew how it felt to be labeled a freak even before you spoke. She knew what it meant for everyone to look at you in scorn, as though a worthless piece of scum. She would at least give it a chance, unlike her father.

While they had been talking, three other quarians had extensive scans of this human. After Rael elaborated on the electric blade incident, they decided to not make direct contact with it, so luckily, no scalpels were produced. The scans revealed a remarkable anatomy. The human's entire endoskeleton was interwoven and surrounded by titanium, into thin filaments, much like steel rebar in a concrete structure. Also, the skin was similarly enforced, but it was not in a similar fashion. It seemed it had a thin layer between the epidermis and the dermis of, you guessed it, more titanium. However, this one was more of stacked perpendicular sheets, with openings for each and every blood vessel, nerve, gland, most impressive finding, however, was a redundant synthetic nervous system. It connected to every region of his brain, but it did not seem to disconnect or even slow down any current brain functions. It was transmitting a binary code of information which likely coincided with his organic system, but the scientist and medical officers could not specify the signal. It was actively being blocked by an unknown encryption method. A large node, connected to the medula oblangata, seemed to be an electrical capacitor, although it was unknown how efficient it would be. At each fingertip, also, they detected a small silicate pad above the normal titanium skin protectant. It almost seemed as though it would accept and even possibly direct electrical impulses.

"This is not a geth creation" the scientist, leader of the 3 medical quarians, proclaimed to Admiral Rael. Afterwards, he stopped the small and steady dosage of sedatives. It would awaken within the next 15 minutes. Silently behind, Tali smiled at the revelation, glad this new Aj would not simply be spaced or dissected.

"And why do you say that?" he retorted, a slight amount of frustration showing.

"The human shows natural biological normalcy, and scans showed that the metalloids were placed at a later date, though it must have been at a young age."

Tali was still listening._ They would put that kind of technology into a child? I always knew humans were determined, but this..._

"Very well, I want this thing under constant medical surveillance. Tali, I still expect you watch over it in person. You brought it, you take care of it. Understood?"

She had about had it, and was about to stand up and punch this man who called himself her father, but she restrained herself, and only allowed a silent nod towards his direction.

With that, the team and Rael left the medical room, except for the lead scientist. "Miss Zorah?" he stated.

Tali had been facing the human with curious eyes, but had thought all of the others left. Startled, she replied, "Yes?"

"I will not try to educate you on human behavior, but there are a few things you should have in case the worst happens. I already see you have a pistol on the table." With that, he handed her some things which would make any human happy -besides the syringe- a couple of military rations procured from the Alliance, a canteen filled with something called orange juice, a strong sedative dose, and a spare Nexus omnitool. "That omnitool was retrieved on an expedition a few weeks back, and is specifically designed for human interface. He should have little trouble, and with you around, I doubt he'll have any problems what can't be corrected." the old scientist's eyes narrowed, but not of anger. With the weak smile, he left the room, leaving Tali to her thoughts.

* * *

Aj had not truly dreamed in a long, long time. This however, was not a dream. He got to relive every moment from the CSM Marathon's first explosion to the end. He remembered escaping the shuttle, but he had given up. In his backpack, he remembered walking to the pilots seat. He could not bear the pain in looking at his sister's face in the photo. Even in death, he was a coward, remembering himself quickly dropping the photo into his backpack. His love could not kill herself, she was too good of a person. He, on the other hand, had not only killed her, but soon thereafter, basically killed himself. At first, his anger had compeled him for survival, at least putting on the exploration suit. Afterwards though, he voluntarily turned off the life support. He had grabbed his knees, and cried, dying like a coward. He was a monster. The words she had told him, one of the last things he would ever hear in her beautiful voice...'you still have a chance, don't waste it'... rung in his head. _I just want some answers..._

_They try to dissect him, then call him a geth, and now they give him a Nexus? An extremely expensive NEXUS? What is this game they are playing?_ Before she could continue on this tangent of suppositions, her curiosity drew her to the bag. She cautiously opened the bag, hoping that it was not wired to explode. Thankfully, no such precautions were necessary, and she glimpsed inside. Inside, she saw a small box of sort, but it was heavy. Little, golden cones were portrayed on the side. Also, she saw a gun, but it was unlike any she had ever seen before. Carefully examining it, she thought to herself, _Where is the mass accelerator on this thing?._ For the second time that day, she was in the dark on technology. This was not her best day. The third item she saw was a piece of what she had learned was earth wood. _Wood? I have never seen it used in anything besides those old vids Shepard showed me..._ When she turned it around, she gasped, and immediately felt a tear on her eye. There was a picture of four humans, an older male and female, and a younger male and female. She was unsure when her kind had switched to holographic interfaces, but she immediately cursed the ancestors who discarded the pleasant beauty of an actual physical picture. It was rather obvious that it was a family, and.. wow! She could see an ocean in the background. It was not like a holovid, its seemed so clear, so beautiful, so calm.. And the trees? They looked so strange compared to the few pictures of the ones on Rannoch... they had so much more leaves!She looked carefully at the human faces. When her eyes looked at the smaller male, again, she gasped and glanced over at the one slumbering nearby. After a couple of repeated glances back and forth, she could not hold back the previous tears. She felt like a terrible person. This human had only one thing in his bag for himself, and it was a family photo of himself, and she violated his quickly decided to replace the items, but not before she noticed something..strange..

On the top left corner of the picture stood a few numbers. _Humans number their pictures?_ She scanned the picture with her omnitool, and shamefully decided to save it to her storage. She wanted to make sure to preserve this memory should the worst happen. The numbers were in a strange sequence, one she was unfamiliar with: 05/18/2041. She entered it into the human's omnitool, hoping for an answer. The answer, she saw, confused her further. It was.. a time stamp? Tali was unfamiliar with the way humans recorded time, she only knew their years were a little less than double the quarian standard. 2044 is what it said? _Hmm, Shanxi was only like 30 human years ago, if I recall from Ashley._ Quickly dispelling the unpleasant images of her name, she looked up the human date for the event still with his omnitool. What she saw shocked her, it said 2157. _It couldn't be!_ According to that, this photo is 144 years old! Humans don't live that long, and even if they did, he looks no older than me! Maybe this is his grandfather or someone? Yes, that makes sense. A slight rustling discontinued her thoughts as she glanced over at the person in question; the information on Shanxi was still on standby when she closed the Alliance omnitool interface. Quickly, she placed the photo on the table and walked towards the now slightly concious human.

* * *

Aj started to wake up. _What the hell did they do to me this time? At least it doesn't hurt_... He struggled to keep Harumi out of his mind, but it was next to impossible. He had to focus on something, anything... anything but her. For a moment, he wondered if Charles Manson felt the same way about those he desicrated. He looked around, and saw only one of those people in the room, looking right at him. It looked like the same girl who tried to talk to him, but it was difficult to tell with the suit. He did confirm her hood ornament was the same color as the previous girl, so he pensively asked, "Tali?"

She did not respond, but merely noded. She got up and handed him this strange orange disk.

"What is this?" he responded. He still felt weak from the sedatives, but seemed to be cognitively sound. He felt a lot calmer with only her in the room.

_He doesn't know what an omnitool is?_ She pointed at her right arm, which had a similar disk on it. When she touched it, a holographic interface opened. She pushed a few buttons, and the beams across his arms and his head retracted. However, he was not 'free' as one remained around his torso, while another around each leg. _Ancestors, please guide me, I only want to help this human._ She did not know if it was a move of kindness to a distressed sapient or paramount to suicide by angry human.

He noticed that it responded oddly like a computer, and assumed it was a new development he had not known. _Damn I can't believe I don't know what that thing is...Savant? Guess not..._The language was strange, a mixture of Chinese and Arabian, and only caused him further confusion. So, I'm stuck in Asia with a bunch of three-toed mutant people? Fantastic. _Wait, Harumi had five toes_?

Stopping himself from diverting into another mental sidetrack. He put the thing on. With no visible means, he just put the thing on his wrist, and pushed the button-like indicator; it felt.. Strange. He stared at the tool for a split-second, thinking about accessing it, but apparently he wouldn't have to worry. Suddenly, a stream of pictures flooded his brain. Pictures of these frilled...birds?.. getting bombed and burned. They walked on two legs, and were holding guns? Pictures of these things, fighting people! What the hell? For a moment, he felt as though he was in a sci-fi movie, watching death and destruction. _STOP he screamed in his head !_ As if on cue, suddenly it stopped as he regained awareness of his surroundings. What he saw was the same lady, but her eyes were wide. _Either those things are glowing, or I'm going crazy._

Tali had been watching the human as he attempted to put on the tool. He had glanced over at her wrist examining how it stuck. As soon as he activated the tool, his eyes went to the back of his head. The omnitool activated, but for some reason, the holographic interface was not active. She observed as a few sparks appeared, and feared for the worst. The human was completely still.

"Are you okay?" she immediately yelled jumping to his aid. She stood right beside the table. There was no reply. She quickly pulled up her human medical scanner and checked it. For the second time today, this program caused her to nearly faint. The scans indicated...extremely high neurological activity... from mostly the synthetic wires. His brain looked like a christmas tree on her scanner. A couple of seconds after, it suddenly slowed down to normal. She looked at the tool quickly, and noticed it was on standby mode again. When she looked back at him, she saw a confused looking human looking right into her eyes.

"Tali? I don't want to sleep again... please" he stated, wondering why she was leaning over him with the glowy thing on. So far, with his one and only experience dealing with those things, they had put him to bed. Now was not the time, it was the time for some damn answers.

"Are you okay? Your pupils they went up and your eyes were clear! What happened? Do you kn-" The quarian's nervous rambling was quickly interrupted.

"I have no idea what the hell is going on." he replied, curious as to how he could now suddenly understand this woman. "You knew English this whole time?" he added with a hint of anger and frustration.

"I know very little of your language, Aj, your kind has so many. But the omnitool has a translator built in. You did not answer my question though, what happened?" Tali added, still concerned for him.

_Omnitool? A tool what can do anything? I highly doubt that...but I won't complain. Wait a minute..._"Uh, my kind? And yeah.. I saw people dying to these weird frilled animals. They had beaks, and claws, and were shooting at us. Then I saw a lot of explosions, and the bird looking things were dying."

"Yes your kind, you are a human" she replied, content he was not in any danger. _If he's talking about turians..._She then pulled up a picture of her old friend Garrus.

"**WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!**" he roared. Suddenly, her reply hit him. "Wh..what do you mean..human? You..you're...are you not a human?" he choked out, barely able to comprehend the thought.

"No, I am a quarian. Do you not know of us?" she whispered, undertones of hurt clearly apparent. She was saddened by the outburst, thinking that she was helping him, but apparently she had failed yet again in her mind.

"I...alien...exist? You talk...but...we...humans don't know of any...quarian?" he stammered, unbelieving the implications of what he'd heard. _He remembered the old stories of little green men abducting humans, but never gave much creedence to those stories._

"Yes, humans have been a part of the galactic community for approximately three decades." she replied. The information she was piecing together was starting to frighten her, but she just thought maybe he was shielded by Terra Firma or some other organization. _Cerberus?..._

He just stared at her. A stare of complete disbelief. Every fiber of his being told him that this girl was lying. These were the people what injected him with something the day after his 15th birthday. Maybe they're just trying to break him now. Not just physically tear him apart -he involuntarily shuddered at the thought of the first day, the deep burning pain coarsing throughout his body- but now psycological manipulation? **DID THOSE BASTARDS DESTROY THE MARATHON?** He quickly dispelled that thought, but the anger remained. He managed to part his eyes from hers for a second and stared at the table, noticing what appeared to be a picture frame. _Can it really be mine? They saved it?_

Tali followed his gaze, which landed directly towards the table. Guessing he saw his picture, she walked over towards it to retrieve it.

When she got up for the photo, Aj was still unable to speak. He deeply hoped that she would not destroy it in front of his eyes. _What did I do to deserve this?_ However, against his presumptions, she seemed to gingerly cradle it with both hands and walk towards him. When she arrived, she handed him the photo.

Continuing the silence, Tali watched as he carefully traced the outlines of the young girl next to him, then the older gentleman above her. He did not seem to pay much attention to the older female; his eyebrows actually furrowed when they came across her. He stared at the young male child with a strange expression. She was unsure what it meant, so she decided to ask.

"This picture is beautiful..." she said in a low voice. She did not want another outburst. After a few more seconds of silence, she was about to ask who it was, but with a little force, but he interrupted her unknowingly.

"Yes, it brings back a lot of memories..." he replied. Before she could reply, tears slowly trickled down his eyes.

Before she could even think, she grabbed his hand, trying her best to comfort the human. Whatever he was thinking was a deep geniune despair. To her, human eyes could tell a thousand words, much easier than quarian body language.

He felt his left hand being grabbed, and saw a strange, gloved, and three-fingered hand in it. It was the hand he had felt earlier, the one what comforted him. Never would he have ever thought an alien would be holding his hand. Nobody except Harumi had given much thought into his personal emotions; he only remembered being the savant, the prodigy, he was perfect. People must have thought nothing goes wrong with them, right? He didn't have time to mentally debate the situation, however. He just gently squeezed it back, staring at the little girl and older man in the photo, tears slowly abating.

Nervous at her own display, which seemed inappropriate, Tali decided to peruse further, hoping that it would not be another outburst. "Who is that in the photo?"

"My family..." he stated, trailing off...


	7. Words From Home

Last chapter of formalities/background!

"I do not understand..." Tali whispered.

"Huh? That's me, my sister, and my parents..." he retorted. Thankfully, most of his current sadness evaporated. He always liked to talk about his family, they were his pride and joy; _mi familia_. Wait a minute... _ISA!_ _I hope she's safe.._

"But, that was 144 years ago!"

"What?"

"According to the time stamp on that photo, it was taken 144 years ago...We found you floating in a melted shuttle our current star system "

"I...I...but how? Where am I?"

"We do not know. We found you floating in space. After bringing you on board, we accidentally revived you with an electric shock" she explained, careful to leave out the whole 'you were about to get dissected by my dad' tidbit.

"So, where am I?"

"You are on the Migrant Fleet, currently on the Neema"

"All I remember is...well I think I died... far away from Earth, in the Kuiper Belt."

Tali was almost as confused as the human. "Are you sure?"

"Yes damnit! Where the hell am I? I'm not playing any more of these games" he was starting to get angry. _So many questions, and not a single answer... maybe I can get a message to Isa at least._ "Do you know where I can talk to my sister?"

"I don't know... this ship has a communication device. I'll ask my Captain to call the Alliance."

"Which alliance?"

Tali had about lost her patience with this human. _Either he's crazy, or he's hiding something..._

"We are going to call Earth. I do not know who you are, but we already scanned you". Tali grabbed and holstered her Predator -strangely it just seemed to stick to her side- and handed him his gun and ammo, both in the backpack. " I do not know what your weapon can do, but if you fire I will not hesitate to kill you."

He barely managed to catch the backpack as the beams were released from his legs, and, while she stared him down, he put the picture also in the bag. _Today just gets better and better_, he thought to himself, 144 years? This has to be some sort of joke. Her feet and hands though...She really doesn't look human. He watched as Tali called an Admiral asking to come down with a com unit for some alliance and also called for a decontamination mask. _Did she just call me mentally unstable!?_

Thankfully, after he obeyed her orders, she seemed to relax back to her old self. "Admiral Han'Gerrel will be down here soon. He requested a meeting with the human Alliance. We sent them your DNA scans. With any luck, maybe we find out why you are so forgetful"

"I just want to see my sister again... It's been over 5 months... she must be worried" he sighed, looking at the ground and placing his backpack beside him. He then looked at her eyes again. "So, are you really an alien?"

"Yes, actually you are the alien right now, you are on the quarian flotilla. That device on your hand has more information. There are tons of others, turian, asari, salarian..."

"Okay" he glanced at the tool. He was always a curious individual, but the events what had transpired throughout the day. He remembered what had happened earlier. "Does this tool work with your mind?"

"What? No. You push the button and an interface comes up. It has plenty of information on every known alien species"

"Are you sure? I felt a weird surge when you put it on.. I saw all those weird birds shooting.. it was not very pretty. Other aliens you say? I'll try again" he started to concentrate on the omnitool, and the strange sensation started to flow throughout his body, this time, he would try to control it.

"What are you do-" she stopped, watching the scene unfold. The sound of an omnitool blinking was heard, and then his body began to convulse, but it stopped after only a few seconds. He afterwards remained perfectly still, but his face showed an intense pain, scrunched into a horrendous scowl. His eyes frantically darting left, right, up, down, with no plausible pattern. Small sparks of electricity seemed to jolt from his skin, but never far. They moved in archaic patterns, sporadically following what seemed like blood vessels or bones. Tali was no expert on human anatomy, but the scene in front of her froze her to her core. The human remained dead still. The intensity of the situation seemed to continue to increase. All of the sudden, a large grin appeared across his face. A peaceful expression, one which she did not expect. He maintained this for nearly a minute. The sparks slowed down, but and she released a breath she'd held for however long it had taken. Instinctively, she reached for her gun and pointed it at him.

Aj concentrated on the tool, and mentally thought to open it. His eyes started to swing to the back of his head, but he resisted. Last time he did that, he lost control of himself. It was harder than he thought, it felt like someone was stabbing his eyes, all he could do was keep them moving, stop them from going back. The pain had started in his arm, but it went across his body. He could see the sparks around his body. _What the hell did they do to-_. And then the pain stopped, but nothing else did. _Finally, it's done_. All of the sudden, his mind felt like it was pulsing, waiting for...something? He thought about aliens, and in an instant, he pictures appeared; the pictures flowed by, and for an unknown reason, information just kept streaming into his subconcious. It was not words, nor voice, just knowledge. It felt like remembering long-lost memories, but he knew that was not possible. It was...strange. He felt like a search engine. Strange humped bipedal lizards, he searched about their home planet,Krogan, Tuchanka, their size, weight, weak points, history, etc. One cannot describe the feeling of being a human computer, other than the displeasure at only being able to gain information at the speed of an organic. Fortunately, Aj could absorb information quicker than most humans. Then the same thing happened with blue weird frilled human-looking things, Asari, Thessia...a picture of the suited people he'd met, quarians, Rannoch, exiled by geth, immune disorder, but nothing about their faces. He glanced at many different races, and their information surprised him. There was a talking breed of squid ! The last thing he read about was the current time. It was indeed 2183. He... was unsure what to do next, so he thought to himself. A new avenue came ahead, a near infinite collection of information, in his mind, but when he tried to access it, a sharp pain screamed in his temple. He immediately thought what to do next. _Stop!_ And silence insued. His eyes finally stopped moving. He was back to the present. He was greeted by the same female quarian, in what looked to be a terrified expression. _Damn visors._

Tali dropped the pistol, more worried about him than her own safety for the short moment. "Are you okay?" she walked towards him and sat by, confused at what just happened. For some reason, she did not feel threatened, he had not once even made an attempt to hurt her.

"I think so... What happened?" He rubbed his temple in soreness.

"You just sat there, sparks around your body. What were you doing?" Tali looked thoroughly confused.

Aj looked equally confused as he replied, "Looking up on aliens, I thought I told you?"

"Well yes, but your entire body was sparking! My omnitool detected that you tried to access the extranet, but your capacitor overloaded"

"Extranet? How? Humans are not very good conductors. And besides, if I was sparking I'd be dead. What processor?" _What the hell? A human capacitor?_

Sighing to herself, she decided maybe, just maybe, this human-machine was not crazy, but geniunely confused. Maybe a self-portrait will help?

"The extranet, the galaxy's data collective. Now, look at this." She then opened the files containing the scans of his body.

"What the hell is all that?"

"We don't know Aj, we found you like this..."

She showed him the scans they had taken. They showed every single deviation from the normal human anatomy. The scan revealed all of what was inside him.

The dream suddenly came back, the voice he had heard...'yours will have another system paralell to it. You will be able to directly interface with technology.' The next realization came to him, and he began to silently sob. Isabelle was dead too...

Tali'Zorah had expected many things out of machines. They beeped, whistled, and shot at her. They invaded the Citadel and Shepard stopped them. Today, though, was different. This.. human?...showed emotions, confusion, etc. Out of all the things she would like to do to them, most of which involved heavy explosives, she never had expected to watch one actively connect to a tool, right in front of her, and then cry. Moreso, she never expected to embrace one.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, trying to help him regain his composure.

"Tali I don't know. The last time I was awake I wasn't like this! I was a normal human being! I had a family, friends, my love -_he stopped himself and nearly started to cry again, again reliving the screaming, the burned flesh, the smell it gave off... the moments of his murder; she noticed he slipped into depressed state, and squeezed his hand-_. I'm so confused..."

"We'll get this sorted out, don't worry, okay?" She tried to sound as caring as possible, and it seemed to be working.

"It's just I was close to my fami-" He was cut off though.

At that moment, a male quarian entered the door. He actually seemed in a decent mood compared to the last male quarian he had to endure and Tali just recognized that over thirty minutes had passed since the two were left alone. Han focused on the human, "Antonio Jackson Sanchez?" Aj nodded. "I'm Admiral Han'Gerrel, the captain of this ship. A human by the name of Admiral Hackett wishes to speak with you. Regardless, I hope you enjoy life on a ship"

Before he could continue, Tali spoke up, "Where is my father Admiral?"

"I will be relaying him any relevant information Tali, do not worry. He will be well aware of this meeting. He was needed on the Alarei again, you must understand how difficult his work is."

_That man is an idiot sometimes. How could he pass up learning about this human? He is, a geth, but a person? _She merely shook her head and silenced herself waiting for his retort. The Admiral nodded and again looked back at the man in question.

The last statement directed towards Aj confused the hell out of him, but he decided to make a good impression, the guy was an Admiral, of course. "Yes, sir" and saluted. The quarian male froze for a second, unexpecting the immediate recognition of authority by a human, and saluted back, then sat down. Aj hoped these interspecies Admirals had decided to finally clarify some of this nightmare.

"One moment" and typed into his omnitool, opening up a holoscreen of an older human male. "Admiral Gerrel, a pleasure. I assume that is Mr. Sanchez?"

"Yes, also Tali'Zorah vas Neema is in the room."

Hackett glanced over at the female quarian, "Miss Zorah, one of the saviors of the Citadel, it's an honor."

Normally quarians do not receive any sort of positive treatment from any species. However, she had heard of this man during Shepard's travels. He was the military leader of the humans, at least to an extent. For him to say it was an honor to meet her..."Th..Thank you" she stammered, drawing a slight chuckle from Han.

"Admiral, do you wish for her to hear this information, it will possibly affect your entire race should you agree?"

"Yes, she has been in the room since he woke up" he replied. _What could this human possibly do for us? All I see is another person to hold a gun. Still, it couldn't hurt to try._

"Very well, Mr. Sanchez, what do you know of your current situation?"

"Sir, I don't have a clue other than I'm on a quarian ship"

Hackett sighed to himself, shaking his head, "Listen, I read your dossier. It's amazing what the old United States government kept hidden away in the files. Thankfully, I have access to all of them under the North American Union. You were a savant, and you were chosen to bridge the gap between computers and people."

At this revelation, both of the quarians gasped, and Han tensed up. He did not seem too pleased to know there might be a creation similar to the geth beside him.

Hackett noticed the confused look on his face, and decided to continue, "You have an astounding gift. Your brain can process more than double what a normal one can at any moment, and that was before your synthetic improvements. Your project was started by your mother, and carried out under her direct orders. However, the information was classified when your condition was studied. Your body was slowly accepting the nanotechnology which was injected directly into your thoracic cavity. It was determined, unfortunately, that the entire project would not complete its construction for at least a century. You were considered a failed experiment, but apparently that is not the case. By now, you likely have some ability to interface with most technological devices. I do not, however, understand how you still are alive. If you have not been informed, you have been presumed KIA for over a normal human lifespan"

Deciding to defer the details to prevent another torrent of self-pity, he simply replied, "Sir, I escaped on a shuttle, and I awoke in this star system." Tali then procceded to explain the details of the reconnisance mission. Aj described the recent events with his omnitool in near perfect detail, while Tali quipped about her extranet readings.

"You may very well be the first human being to successfully transport across the Charon relay. That's interesting, as it was nearly entirely frozen when we discovered it. However, you fit the prediction, Antonio. If you tried to access the extranet, as Miss Zorah has concluded, likely your brain would not be able to process the massive influx of data, likely killing you. Needless to say, I recommend refraining from further access towards it. However, I have some questions to ask you about your future."

"Yes sir?"

"Do you wish to serve the human military? The United States was removed from power, forming a collective of the entire North America continent. All of the global continents have united militarily under the Human Alliance."

"I do, but what use am I? I haven't trained in well, a century, you said it yourself. No doubt everything's changed." he looked at his feet, ashamed of his own apparent antiquated status as a soldier.

"Not everything. We do have an assignment tailored to your specific abilities. It is one of the most extensive assignments I have ever had the liberty to divulge, actually."

Scaring the shit out of someone before giving orders was not on his previous contract, but why not? Everyone he knew was gone, he was presumed dead for a long time. "Sir, I am ready to serve" his military training kicked in, giving the human Admiral a salute.

For the first time in the interview, Hackett's stoic expression showed the miniscule possibility of a grin. "Antonio Sanchez, you are hereby instated into the Alliance immediately as a Major. Your first task is to serve under the Migrant Fleet to help in any way possible to resolve the geth assault and any other hostile synthetic situation. Until further notice, you will be under the direction of the Quarian Admiralty, and I expect you to appropriate to them the same level of respect as any human superior"

Immediately after this piece of information, one may have assumed Han had a similar afinity with his drastically increased brain processes at the moment. _This may be the break we need to finally crush those synthetic bastards!_ He was grinning like a baffoon.

"We will have a weapon's shipment as well as a substantial amount of levo-based rations sent towards your current location Major. The discussion of your attire will be determined soon. I will keep in contact. Hackett out."


	8. Back In the Saddle

Sorry I lied! Had to clarify a few things, but the story is taking shape! Hope you enjoy, and please, comment. I read everything you guys say, and do my best to address any issues. I'm far from perfect, hell, skilled is still a stretch!

Hackett sat at his desk, sipping his coffee, wondering if he'd just given the quarians the key to their homeworld or the next Paul Grayson. He decided to send the Major a non-standard set , terminus assault armor along with a M-76 Revenant LMG, and a new experimental weapon he thought may be useful, the M-622 Avalanche. He had to hide this kid's existance from most people. If the public found out what this kid might be able to do, the implications would be nothing short of hell, along with thousands of likely failed experiments.

Before he could think too deeply on that, however, a message appeared at his terminal which caused most of the black, steamy beverage to spray out of his mouth. It was from Liara T'soni, with only a short message: _It won't be long, the __**real **__him_ . Hackett had been made aware of Liara's...deal... with Cerberus almost a year ago, and already, there had been substantial progress. He did not wholeheartedly approved, but did not object to the sacrilegious revival. The galaxy did need a leader, and Shepard was that kind of man. In a carefully cropped photo, the body of Commander John Shepard layed on a table, who had been dead for over two years. _The survivor of Akuze had done it again, death was just an inconvenience_, he thought to Admiral stared for a moment longer, and deleted the message, then walked away. For an unknown reason, he had an urge to watch a zombie movie to take a break.

* * *

Back on the Neema...

After cutting the communication, Admiral Han spoke up, "Until your armor arrives, you will need to wear that mask. I'll assign you under Tali'Zorah for now, and we allocate some proper living arrangements."

"Yes sir" he murmured somberly.

Tali still sat nearby, still absorbing what Hackett had told them._ Maybe the human will help keep Prazza in line, he was pretty mad when I took over his squad._

He had been leaving, but when he heard the reply, he turned around, "Are you alright Mr. Sanchez?"

"Yes, I just need time to... think. And please, it's Aj" he replied. The Admiral must have got the message, because he just nodded and left the room.

For a few moments, he just sat there, staring at the bulkhead aimlessly. His entire world had been changed. One day, he was looking for alien life, now, he was living with it under a human's orders. He did not want to think about his sister or ... he couldn't bear to relive the scene another time, but it felt out of his control. Out of everything what had been said so far, nothing mattered as much as his mother. Admiral Hackett's words still stung like a fresh wound '_Your project was started by your mother, and carried out under her direct orders. You were considered a failed experiment'_. Then out of the blue, he yelled out, "**GOD DAMMIT**! and smashed his fist into his 'bed'. To his surprise, he caused the metal to dent slightly, and didn't feel much pain. But that didn't matter, his mom, she was the psycopath who ruined his life. He was her guinea pig.

"Aj?" Tali spoke, getting up from her seat and shuffling slightly away from the enraged human.

"It's all her fault..." he replied. His tone had switched from absolute angry to complete despair. She noticed the switch and walked ever so slowly back towards him. He started to shake, and couldn't contain himself. For the second time today, he let a tear come out; he truly felt pathetic. _I lost everyone who's ever cared about me, without even a goodbye... Now I'm just a freak. Not even a freak of nature, a freak of man's creation..._

"What do you mean?" she gingerly approached and sat by him.

For the first time in his life, Aj told someone about his 'dream'. He told someone that nearly every day the burning across his body, unknowingly becoming a grotesque manifestation of man and machine. He was unsure why, or what it would solve, but he felt the need to get it off his chest. This quarian girl had done nothing but try to help him, and now, she was his commanding officer apparently. Maybe that was why? Maybe he was weak?

When he finished, he was expecting her to run away from him, or pull out her pistol again. In fact, he hoped she would do the second, to end his misery. _She even had all the reason to, her race lost billions of people to their own machines..._There were a thousand different things he expected from her, but what happened was not even on the list. She calmly drew him into an embrace, and he released the inner child in himself, releasing years of pent of frustration, confusion, and despair in arms of an alien.

* * *

It had been a week since Aj had situated himself on the Neema, finally being able to relocate from the medical room. He still had nightmares about Harumi, but he kept fighting through it. _Murderer. You killed her, you abandoned her_. The screams were the worst part. The scream of a woman and her unborn child aflame, with nothing he could do. He still had a chance, and she was in a better place, he told himself everyday. It felt like a losing battle, but the only escape is suicide. Not again. Never again. He hid his pain from everyone, including Tali; she had enough to deal with, and he was going to have to accept his monstrosity, but it was not that easy...The best way he found to cope with his despair was sarcasm. It worked as well as putting a bandaid on a severed arm.

He noticed the quarian lifestyle was similar to his old life on Puerto Rico. Everyone was family, and nobody was above the others, a true social democracy. Many of the quarians would immediately get out of his way when he walked by; they were not used to a hulking figure in intimidating armor lumbering around the ship's engines. So far, he had only gotten to know two of them well, obviously Tali, and this new guy named Kal. Tali introduced him to the marine hoping to give him a few friends on the fleet. He immediately liked the guy, everything was simple in his book, and he liked to shoot stuff. He remembered the encounter with this Kal guy a few days ago...

"I have never shot one of those though!"

"Tell you what, if you can hit the target this thing, I'll let you", he tossed him his .44 at the training ship's range and pointed at the 100m target.

"Where is the accelerator on this weapon?" the quarian replied, confused.

"It's an old human design, employing our species' favorite style, controlled explosives!"

"WHAT? Is it safe to use?"

Aj grabbed it and loaded it with all six shots. "It's called a revolver, it uses a small explosion to move these" he showed him a bullet from the package "and basically explodes on impact. They're called 'hollow points'."

"Very well, you shoot it first though"

"I thought you were a marine, here you are scared of a little pea shooter!"

For a split second, Kal was offended, but the human didn't seem to be trying to cause offense. Tali often mentioned there were double meanings in their culture. "I'm doing you a favor Aj, if it explodes in your hands perhaps you'll be left with the proper amount of digits"

Laughing at his comment, he fired a single shot, hitting the target near dead center. A small wisp of smoke alarmed Kal, but it the human didn't seem concerned. Looking at his concern, he retorted, "explosives remember? A little bit of smoke isn't going to kill you"

Unfortunately for Aj, the marine was very adaptable, and after missing the first shot, he managed to hit the target with the next four. "This thing isn't bad Aj, but I believe now you owe me a shot with the big gun"

Nearly causing a piece of the hull to snap-freeze after a few shots from both, they scurried off the ship before the captain noticed the slight damage. "By the way Kal, if I go down, keep this thing. I doubt anyone here will have the balls to hold my snowball launcher anyway"

With a laugh and a salute, he stated "Sounds good to me, I'll be busy with some MGM duties, but we'll shoot again. Keelah Se'Lai" and walked off.

Aj had heard that ending, but still didn't fully comprehend it, instead he had given him a return salute and headed back to the Neema with his new favorite weapon.

* * *

The next month wa extremely new, but exciting. He was the fleet's first alien visitor in a long time. Tali often came by to chat, preferring in person for some reason. She loved to hear his stories about the beach especially, and he only wished he had other pictures to show her. Everytime he started to talk about his sister, he seemed to cheer up, but it would fizzle out at the end of every story. Tali knew what it was like to lose someone, and was always there to give a hug or make a joke to skirt the situation.

Other than practicing military training, he spent most of his time working on the engines, sometimes with Tali, other times with a random jubilee of visors. She had taught him quite a bit on how engines and weapons worked in this day and age, and also this 'element zero' what seemed to defy the Newtonian physics he had known so well back in the day. Some things are better learned face-to-visor than through reading specifications.

Free time was not very common, and for a good reason. There was always something what was not operating at its peak efficiency. Unsure of what he could truly do with this...gift... he only accessed his omnitool in the privacy of his room. Often he'd search random information about human affairs, and in a short amount of time, had grasped the basics of the current galactic political situation. He was especially intrigued by this geth invasion they spoke of, with a rogue spectre. _Spectres sound like galactic knights._ Once he read that Tali, this human spectre named Shepard, and one of those turian birds had stopped it - even saving the alien Council, helping humanity gain a seat- any question to her authority was removed. He was really starting to like this lady, she was an incredible person. While working on the engines, this time alone, he 'felt' an incoming transmission from Tali, and quickly answered it mentally. To his amusement, entered an 'omnichat'.

"Hey everyone, I invited the human to our chat! Remember, he's joining our squad !" Tali happily quipped. She didn't seem to mind the fact he was a different species; he seemed to know what he was doing in the firing range a couple days ago and had followed her orders. Plus, she actually thought he was kind of ...handsome... albeit slightly shiny; she would never tell her father though. Nor him, especially. Aj had told her a little bit about who was on the ship he had flown in before being discovered, but mentioned he was the only survivor. Some things need time to heal.

"Oh uh, hello uh.. AJ right?" replied a shy feminine voice, apparently from some Fia'Raan.

"Hey there, don't worry, I don't bite... often." he stated, amused with this new voices nervous stammering.

A few gasps and a single 'Keelah' were heard. Only one voice was heard laughing though, and he noticed it was coming from Tali.

"He's kidding Fia, haha" Tali managed between a few laughs.

"This human is an idiot; why did they assign him to our squad?" huffed the slimy scuzzbucket himself, Prazza'Zeru.

"I think we need to send you to the gils'tyns Prazza." giggled his bondmate, Laor'Zeru.

"Laor how can you take his side? He is a human?"

"So we cut off a couple digits and we'll be fine!"

"You're just jealous.I guess there is room for sarcastic bastards on the ship after all !" Aj happily replied, breaking some of the tension between the group of seven.

At that moment, Prazza's communication signal was cut. Sighing, Laor replied, "I'll go check on my palla, sorry about that Aj, he's a bosh'tet sometimes" and cut off the line, only five remained.

"Yeah.. sometimes. Well, that was Prazza and Laor, Aj, don't worry though, he won't cause you any trouble the bosh'tet just has a big mouth." Tali stated.

"Great, already started on the right foot. So, Kal isn't in our squad? Guy's got a good shot"

"No, I'm sorry, he's in the Migrant Fleet Marines, we're a reconnisance squad. We have some good distance shooters though. You heard Fia'Raan before, the other two are Jib'Miarto -he also is good with tech- and Vida'Wallaka who also doubles as a medic"

"So Fia, Jib, and Vida. Got it."

"Yeah, Fia's another Admiral's daughter, she's actually got a little bit of biotic powers, long story, and usually uses her shotgun. Jib and Vika are our snipers, and Prazza and his bondmade are equipped like you, with a rifle"

"Biotics?" Aj was finally, just finally, starting to get a solid line of information. But, like everything, there was always an unknown. He heard about these fabled powers when researching the asari, but he never thought it was a combat addition. _George Lucas was smarter than I thought it seems..._

"Oh keelah..."

"I thought humans stopped living in caves a long time ago?" stated Fia, again barely audible, drawing a laugh from most of the squad, besides the human in question.

Before anyone could retort, a signal from Admiral Zorah shut up the entire squad. "Tali'Zorah, your squad is immediately required to investigate a possible recently started Pilgrimage boy in danger. Veetor's emergency distress signal was detected. He is still currently on Freedom's Progress." immediately after he cut the line.

"So, we're going to a new planet?" Aj questioned.

"Yes actually, it's a human colony, maybe you'll be able to find some of that... oh what was it...chocolate?"

Little did she know, he was hoping a certain herbal remedy had not gone out of fashion.

While walking towards his destination, a small transport shuttle, in a private communication channel, he heard Tali ask him in a near whisper, "Do you want to tell them about your ability?"

"I'll tell them on the ship, just try to help them not shoot me."

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Palla:** Term used to describe one's Lifemate. Literal translation: My soul's soul. Uncommon term used by clans from the southern continent of Sumeern. Though the clans have mixed with other ships, its use has remained only on the ships originally from the cities of Kilmest il biin and Toovaz il raan.

**Gils'tyns: **Derogatory term used to refer to Psychologists. Literal translation: Memory or mind eater. Depends on originating ship of the speaker


	9. Charge the Light Brigade

"Five minutes out Tali" exclaimed Jib who was piloting the shuttle.

"Okay" then addressing the other five in front of her "Our hailing beacons are not being addressed. We are assuming a hostile situation, but are unsure. The priority is to locate and retrieve Veetor. Do not attack any humans unprovoked. Understood?"

After everyone nodded or replied in agreement, she sat down by Aj, who was a little away holding his Revenant while looking out the window. Her sudden appearence startled him a little.

"Oh hey Tali, what do you need?"

"Just making sure your okay, do you like your new nickname?" she giggled at the thought

"I'd prefer not to be called 'theg' but it sure as hell beats getting shot. I'm not a geth for goodness sake"

"Exactly, you're a backwards geth! I'm glad Vida stopped you from punching the hull you bosh'tet, look what you did to the chair!" pointing at the nearby seat which had a brand new 3 inch indentation. "Anyway, why didn't you tell them about your omnitool incident?"

"I still don't understand it myself Tali, all they need to know is I'm stronger and more durable than a normal human. Not to mention better looking" he replied with a grin.

Tali just shook her head, blushing, unknowingly to Aj, but her disapproving reaction still made him laugh. _Hell I haven't laughed in forever it seems._

"Some of the questions they had were... strange." she exclaimed, hiding her embarrassment.

"You're telling me? I thought Fia was the shy one" he stated a little to loud for comfort. Tali noticed with her peripheal vision that Fia seemed to uncomfortably stir and look away from them. "I don't know if metal makes my di-"

"STOP. NOW." she retorted, all the while blushing herself. "Many of us have never seen a human in person"

"Yeah yeah, well, I'll send her a picture someday maybe it'll answer a few questions"

For some strange reason, Fia seemed interested again in the conversation. "I think we would prefer if you kept your personal biology to yourself Aj, besides, she doesn't need to be horrified for life"

"Thanks Tali, I'll remember that next time you need a volunteer at the engines. _Wait, we? _Uh, so why do you guys all have tinted visors? If everyone had a clear one you wouldn't be so shy"

"Well, it's a tradi-"

"ETA 60 seconds to entering the atmosphere. No organic life signs detected in the immediate vacinity. Multiple synthetics of non-geth origin also detected. Plausible hostilities" barked Jib.

"Weapons ready everyone!" Tali ordered.

"Not going to enlighten the primate as you like to call me? Fine!" he pouted, earning what he assumed was a smirk in return.

"Later, maybe I'll even get you a banana. But seriously, are you ready? You've never faced combat with this kind of tech"

"You need to learn one thing about humans Tali"

"Hah, a lot more than that" she replied, embarrased immediately at the implications

Thankfully, even though he was 196cm, the comment flew above and beyond his head, "When in doubt, shoot it again. Repeat." holding his Revenant; he then pointed at his Avalanche "or in this case freeze the piss out of it"

"Bosh'tet..."

"Autopilot engaged, doors opening in 5" Jib exclaimed while walking out of the cockpit.

The squad of seven jumped out of the vehicle, which landed itself on a small pad. Oddly, there was nobody waiting to questioned a group of armed quarians, _and one human of course._

Walking through into the docking building, which normally housed the air traffic controllers, they found it to be empty as well."Why is there nobody here?" Vika murmured. "This feels like a trap"

"Yes Tali is this a trap?" Prazza hissed lowly "I doubt you can lead **MY** squad to anything but their deaths"

Luckily for him, Laor was busy conversating with Fia about which biotics she planned to use for what situation.

"Will you shut up already? You worse than a politician" Aj jabbed, laughing at his own joke.

"Shut your mouth you disgusting machine before I kill you myse-" Thankfully, Tali would have none of that. A powerful side kick landed right in Prazza's gut. He immediately dropped to the ground wheezing.

"DO NOT EVER THREATEN ONE OF MY SQUADMATES PRAZZA OR I WILL SHO..." she cut herself off; Laor was watching, and had quickly ran over to her bondmate. To threaten him would likely provoke an outburst from the female, as quarians are territorial of their only true possesion, their lover. "Just, stop it Prazza, I won't ask again."

Prazza murmued something inaudible while Laor helped him up. Luckily, she had heard his threat as well, and was content to just drop the situation.

Another minute passed by, and they were almost 100m from Veetor's signal, which was still active. There was a large bulkhead in the way, and Tali was about to open it when she heard a yell.

"SHUTTLE COMING IN !" yelled Vida.

"Establish a line of communication imm..." Tali replied, but trailed off when the ship came into view, and landed far behind, near their original landing location. The logo plastered on the side was noticed by the entire crew.

"CERBERUS!" a couple of the quarians yelled.

"Everyone calm down, that shuttle spooked Veetor, most likely. I'm reading a lot of mechs on the other side, we should look for a different rou-" Tali replied, trying to take control of the situation, but was interrupted.

"NO, we need to get to Veetor immediately, those Cerberus dogs are here to finish the job!" Prazza commanded.

"Prazza stand down! We can't rush in-"

"YOU SHUT THE HELL UP ! THIS IS MY SQUAD. You only lead it now because of your father!" he yelled back, pointing a finger at her. Then, addressing the entire group, he ordered, "Fall in, we need to extract Veetor immediately, Jib, open the door!"

Unfortunately for Tali, the entire group had been led by Prazza through numerous missions in the past, and her questionable overcaution had been widely known to cost a few lives in the past. Jib immediately got down to hack the door open.

"If you want to die then fine, I am going around-"

"Good, abandon the squad, I'll make sure you are charged you for treason!" He then pointed a finger at the Aj, "And you, you fre'eg! Stay out of my way"

Before he could reply, Jib finished hacking the door.

"Move forward !" he ordered

* * *

Tali, Fia, and Aj stayed behind, and went towards the left side of the bulkhead opening for a clearer view.

"Should we help them Tali?" Fia stated. She had been an old friend of her since her mother was basically Tali's also, and would never abandon her. Besides, Prazza was a prick.

Sighing, she stated, "We should go around, it's stupid to go ahead when...HEAVY MECH!" Tali was pointing at this incredibly large machine Aj would later learn was called a YMIR.

As soon as she finished her statement, she sprinted forward with the other two close behind, running to cover in the left-side building. Prazza and Laor were hiding behind a crate, while Vida and Jib were in the rightside building. The heavy mech was beginning its activation sequence, but from their positions, it was unseen.

Over two dozen LOKI mechs and 2 FENRIS dogs were slowly advancing on the 'rebel' squad.

"Cover fire on the right flank!" Prazza screamed. Suddenly a mech was decapitated. Vida was an excellent shot, especially at under 50m. Right after, Jib had hit a mech right in the chest, exploding it upon impact. The dogs were nearly impossible to hit, however, as they were quite fast. Prazza heard the shots, and an explosion, and immediately broke from cover. Unfortunately, a FENRIS dog had made it across the distance, and ran directly into his right leg, snapping it instantly. He screamed loudly.

Laor, who had stayed behind cover, immediately took it out with a Katana blast to the...optic face. She then tried to pull Prazza back to cover, but a few mechs without a direct visual began firing at the cover, slowly breaking the crate.

Vida patted his shoulder, pointed at Prazza, and exited the building; Jib got the message and attempted to provide cover fire. He switched to armor-piercing rounds.

10m before they entered the left building, Tali's triage heard a blood-curling scream. They were just in time to see over 20 LOKI mechs turning to aim at Prazza.

Aj immediately began firing his Revenant at the left flank of the mechs, cutting one down immediately while severing the arm of another; Fia pulled a mech in close with her left hand and threw a grenade with her right towards the middle; Tali instantly blasted the fast approaching blue-auroa'd mech apart with her Eviscerator and shot another farther away, with less of an effect. Unfortunately, this only stalled the mechs. Prazza screamed again.

When Laor finally pulled him behind the crate, it gave way, revealing both of their positions. Startled by the noise, she accidently let go of his shoulders, falling backwards due to momentum. Before Laor could react, a rocket flew towards Prazza, hitting him right in the chest, and exploding all before Laor could blink. What was left of her bondmate lie before her, specks of blood hit her visor. Vida was a few meters away to provide medical assistance when it happened.

Tali's group had continued to take down mechs, but they just kept coming. They saw that the YMIR mech had gotten up, and began moving. **SYSTEMS ENGAGED. HOSTILES DETECTED**, its voice boomed. It aimed its rocket right towards Prazza and Laor. A sniper round hit its chest, but merely made a dent and made a spark fly. The group watched in horror as a crate dissipated, and the heavy mech fired the rocket. There was nothing they could have done.

Laor watched as her bondmate died in front of her eyes. The closest thing to a female quarian roar was heard, and she burst out of cover screaming at the mechs with indecipherable profanities. Felz'elt is the literal feeling of losing half your soul. To have it ripped away, in an instant, in the heat of battle, is not a feeling one can describe. She charged with her shotgun, shooting anything that moved. She took down three mechs before the YMIR charged its machine gun, barraging her with a hail of bullets. Even nearly cut in half by the mech, she managed to scream and shoot another, before a rocket finished her off as well.

As soon as Prazza was killed, as Laor charged; Vida stood frozen in place, for a little too long. She watched one of her better friends go into a berserking phase. A shot managed to pierce her kinetic barrier, and sliced into her thigh, piercing her yaszil'jies artery. She ran behind cover, managing to fire a couple shots, but she was bleeding profusely and minor infection had set in by the time she was behind cover.

Jib and Tali's squad watched in horror at the scene unfold. Fia started to cry on the spot. Aj was still using his Revenant, taking cover when his shielding was about to fail. He managed to take down a few more before the YMIR started to swivel in his direction.

"FIA you need to calm down!" Tali stayed after the rocket killed Laor.

"Tali there's still a dozen mechs and the YMIR; we're down to five people !"

"Tali'Zorah can you hear me?" a weak Vida choked into the com.

"Vida are you and Jib still in the right building? We need covering fire!"

"Jib is. I... I can't feel my left leg. I was hit. My yaszil'jies."

_Oh Keelah, no, no no..._"Give me your location, I'll come" she shrieked

"Here, but please, be careful." Vida inputted her coordinates as she was out of visual range.

* * *

Jib had heard Vida's weak voice, and moved back to cover. He was doing excellent until he tried to break away to the other building. He saw a small route behind a concrete barricade, and sprinted towards it. Vida was a short sprint away. He took down a couple of mechs with well placed kneeling sniper shots, dodging a few shots himself. He was doing great until he saw a group of three Cerberus operatives sprinting at his direction. He froze momentarily, but quickly aimed his sniper towards the unarmored human female, who immediately threw a biotic push at him. He flew towards the mechs with a loud thud, likely breaking most of his bones. That would be a moot point, as the remaining 10 and the heavy concentrated fire on the helpless quarian. Soon, where Jib had once fell was a bloody pulp of violet-red blood and fragments of suit.

She turned to Aj and Fia, "Fia, Aj, cover me, I need to get to Vida." Before they could reply, she left from the back door towards Vida. They did as they were told, and turned to see Jib getting torn to shreds, for some reason being in the middle of the mech group. Aj did not appreciate this massacre, and started to get pretty pissed off, he noticed sparks beginning to appear around his armor, and around his rifle. _I really feel like... charge the light brigade!_ Without a word to Fia, he headed for the front door, which was only a few meters from the mech group. The last thing Fia saw of him was him holstering his Revenant and pulling out his large, blue-ish weapon.

"GOD DAMNIT MIRANDA IF YOU KILL ANOTHER QUARIAN I WILL SEND YOU BACK ON A FUCKING PLATE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Shepard screamed at the operative, who had a smug look on her face.

"He was about to fire at me, I had to defend myself" she stated, without a hint of remorse.

"Shut the hell up and assist, I'm reading mechs and a heavy unknown synthetic"

"Commander, that's a YMIR; it won't be easy" Jacob added.

"Can't be worse than Saren, move forward!" he barked back.

It took them less than a thirty seconds to make their way to the mechs; the machine's weapons were not built for longer ranges, and the YMIR was focused on closer targets.

When they arrived, he saw a quarian hugging a wounded lady (obvious by the pool of blood), and ordered Jacob to cover her, prefering him over the psyco lady already.

Tali had been tending to the woulded Vida, but she was a lost cause.

The last sight Vida had was of Tali embracing her, whispering a prayer to the Ancestors. Once she released the hug, she almost shot a dark-skinned human who jumped to cover nearby; she noticed the Cerberus logo, but he didn't shoot.

"Jacob Taylor, we need to kill the mechs, once they're dead our squad leader will be explain" the man spoke.

* * *

Tali'Zorah hated two things in her life. Geth, and Cerberus. She pulled out her shotgun, and nearly shot him. However, the man named Jacob had not even looked back at her, and was glowing blue while a mech slammed into the ground; two other Cerberus humans were taking out the rest of the LOKIs, but the YMIR began to advance. _What did Wrex say, an enemy of my enemy is my friend?... For now._ At that moment, she saw Aj sprinting towards the mech carrying his snowball launcher; that's not what surprised her, but perhaps the sparks crackling throughout his armor, seemingly aiming towards the mech.

Shepard looked over at Jacob before taking any mechs down, and noticed he appeared to be obeying the orders. He quickly started to take out the mechs, but there were still a few left along with the YMIR... which now was heading right towards them. He was absolutely perplexed at the sudden appearance of a human charging at the mech, loading what looked like a M-622 Avalance, but his armor was short circuiting? He was sparking with electricity, and his weapon was ready to fire. A few sparks crackled and hit the mech, even though he was a few meters away, and it began turning towards the crazy person.

Aj felt like his whole world was in slow motion. _This stupid fucking machine is killing everyone without a damn thought._ Then he ran out of the building, noticing there were only four LOKI mechs, but they were ahead of the YMIR. He only cared about the heavy beast itself. Loading his Avalanche, he fired, but it was slightly short, and only hit its 'legs'. The heavy mech was stuck to the ground, but slowly was turning its torso -and guns- towards his direction. Aj was too close, though.

There are many things Tali, Shepard, Jacob, Fia, and Miranda had seen in their days. Some had seen giant mechanical nautolids attacking the center of galactic civilization itself, others, a burnt piece of flesh reanimated over the course of two years. However, seeing a human male tackling a mech (who's legs were frozen to the ground) was not one of them. The force he had built up managed to shatter both of it's legs. He was on top of it, both hands on the machine's chest, punching it? All they could see where sparks flying from his body, much like a tesla coil back from the 20th century.

Aj had no idea that the mech would actually crumple, and he was unsure what to do. He started punching its chest, and felt his skin tingling. His attacks were doing little to the mech's actual frame, denting it, but no crippling damage as of yet. He focused on the mech, and kept screaming in his head: _FUCKING DIE!_ For a moment, he decided to just grab the machine and hold. The same sensation from the omnitool hit his body, but it was different. In his mind, he felt the power of the beast below, he felt the arms desperately trying to push him off. It stopped, he felt through the machine. For a moment, he saw his own face through the red tint of the optics. This only angered him further, and he ordered it to kindly burn in hell. He felt the mech overloading, shaking. The images of the rocket killing the two quarians still were on his mind, he barely heard the mech's monotone proclamation: **SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED.**

The other members of the group had killed the LOKI mechs, careful not to hit Aj in the crossfire. The firing had stopped from both groups, both just watching the scene unfold. He had stopped punching it before they finished, and the tesla sparks grew. They started to envelop the mech also. The mech stopped helplessly flailing its arms, and began to shake.

After hearing the reply, he tried to move, but he was shaking also. It took him a couple of seconds, then the sparks started to die down. He tried to run away from the impending destruction, but he wasn't fast enough. The last thing he remembers from that moment was a loud explosion, and a decent arial view of Tali and a black man, before hitting a wall at bonecrushing speed. He was out cold in an instant.

"STAND DOWN !" Shepard barked as his operatives aimed their weapons at the unconcious figure. He noticed a quarian quickly look at him, then sprint towards the other one, which was still taking cover near Jacob. He started walking towards the only two remaining dextros.

Tali had just witnessed one of the strangest and most impressive scenes in her life, but the voice she heard nearly made her collapse on the spot. She was still on the ground, covered in her friend's blood. Her voice was gone, but she managed to spew out, "Shepard?" Suddenly Fia appeared at her side, clutching her with and shivering, likely terrified of anything and everything not quarian.

He heard the voice, the voice of one of his closest friends, and walked towards her. "Jacob, bring over the sparky guy and give him some medigel" he immediately followed the order. "Miranda, follow the signal and locate, I repeat, do not engage, understood?" she furrowed her eyebrows and calmly opened her omnitool, begrudgingly following the orders.

Without even speaking at her, or the other girl who had run towards her, he dropped to a knee took of his helmet and dropped it at his feet, immediately hearing a gasp. _I have a lot of explaining to-_

His thoughts were interrupted by an armful of quarian crying into his arms, while out of the corner of his eye, the other ran towards the unknown human, cutting off Jacob's attempts.

"Shepard...but how? Cerberus?" she stammered out between sniffles.

_Damn, __**a lot **__of explaining to do._

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Felz'elt:** Term used to describe the state of mind of a person who has just lost their lifemate. Literal translation: Sundered souls. A condition very close to the human emotion of grief when a loved one dies but at a depth that very few humans could experience. This state of being will be always present after their lifemate has joined the Ancestors but can vary in effect. The longer the lifemates were together, the lesser overall effect it has, as there are more memories to lessen the pain.

**Yaszil'jies, Yaszil'ahs: **The two primary arteries supplying blood to the legs. 'jies - inner and 'ahs - outer. The two arteries provide maximum oxygenated blood to the powerful thigh muscles for extreme but short lived bursts of speed. The femoral artery in humans.

**Fre'eg: **Curse word. Literal translation: Clinging waste. In old earth english, a dingleberry.


	10. Meet the Zombie

Miranda was slowly walking towards the signal. _I might as well get used to this...he is now my 'commander'..._she angrily thought to herself. Her thoughts drifted back to the present, thinking about the scene she had just witnessed. _A human, sparking? There's no way he could... wait. Quarians? Geth? Those bastards made a human geth!?_ Before she could continue on her train of thought, she approached a door. After quickly unlocking it,, she noticed a quarian sitting down, frantically keying commands.

"Operative Lawson, now immediately cease and desist quarian" she yelled, angry at encountering yet another of those...vermin.

The quarian seemed to ignore her, and continued to focus on the screens ahead.

Miranda was not in the best mood, and decided proactive force might solve the situation. She aimed her pistol to shoot inches away from the suit rat's helmet. Pulling the trigger, she was rewarded by his attention, and broken, sparking screen.

"Human? But how did you survive?" he exclaimed, more surprised than in fear.

"We killed off your damn mechs, now where is everyone?" she replied with an obvious anger in her tone. _One quarian killed an entire human-_

"MONSTERS!" he yelled, holding his face in his visor. "Monsters came, took everyone! But Veetor sees. Veetor hides. The machines protected me."

"What are you talking about?" she barked back, but then started to take into account his behavior. Miranda was no psychologist, but this quarian was obviously not in a normal state of mind; _yelling won't get me nowhere._ In a far away land, pigs may have developed the ability to perform arial maneuvers. "Veetor, come with me." she asked with a gentle tone. "There are other quarians here, probaly looking for you. Come with me, the monsters are gone"

Apparently that worked, as he got up and hesitantly started to trail behind.

* * *

**Meanwhile, at the other side of the courtyard...**

"Tali, I just woke up yesterday. Cerberus spent two years bringing me back to life"

"But how?" she was not accustomed to talking to a reanimated corpse. She glanced back at Aj who was still unmoving, a small trickle of blood was running down his nose. Fia had left after seeing Tali's reaction to the 'Shepard' peron and removed his helmet. Jacob was slowly approaching her and Aj's location. "We need to get Aj!"

"Is Aj that guy who killed the mech?"

She nodded and sprinted towards the figure, Shepard close behind.

Tali saw the human was getting out his omnitool, while Fia was applying medigel. She hissed, "GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU CERBERUS-"

"Ma'am, I'm applying ammonium carbonate." he calmly, but loudly replied. "If he's okay, he should wake up". His omnitool was blinking in an odd fashion, and Tali calmed down a little. The function was an environmental sample and recombination unit. In lamens terms, it holds compounds in the environment, breaks them down into the basic elements, and recombines them into other molecules. Thankfully Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, and Carbon are common in most human-habited atmospheres. He quickly administered a small dose under his nose.

The man started to rustle, and Tali quickly rushed to his side, scanning him for any injuries. Oddly, nothing seemed broken, but he was definitely going to feel the bruises.

The last thing Aj remembered was flying through the air, catching a glimpse of Tali kneeling by another quarian in a pool of blood. He felt a hard surface, and everything went back. The blackness engulfed him...an old memory came before him.

* * *

_It had been a few hours since he completed his basic training. He was going to be a junior in college soon, and he was nearly skipping back to his house. He was officially enlisted under inactive duty!_

_"Hey grandma!" he exclaimed happily. His grandfather was out shopping for groceries he assumed._

_"Oh hey there Antonio, it's nice to see you. Where's your sister?" she replied, hiding a hint of sadness as she spoke._

_"She's with grandpa shopping, but she'll be here soon. Why are you crying?" he glanced at the picture, which showed a young woman with an arm around a young man who was dressed in a firefighter's suit._

_"I'm just remembering those fallen serving our great country" she said, managing a smile._

_"Who are they?" he pointed at the picture._

_"Well, that's me, from a long time ago."_

_"So is that Juan?"_

_"No. It's not."_

_"Who is it?"_

_"That was Louis. He was the first man I fell in love with...we had just gotten married when...well it was a long time ago. He was a firefighter in New York City."_

_Aj sat on next to her on the couch (he was way too big for the lap sits), and looked at the picture again. "Do you still talk to him?"_

_"No Antonio, I can't"_

_"Why not?" he was geniunely confused._

_"He was there during the plane crashes over four decades ago. Many firefighters went up there. Most didn't make it out."_

_Aj wasn't very mature at the moment, but even he could connect the dots, and embraced his grandma._

_"He left me a message, though. Firefighters often did just in case the worst happened... It isn't a safe job." she was still tearing up._

_"What did he tell you?" _

_"He left me a poem, by an old poet. It was called Annabel Lee by an Edgar Allan Poe. It was about a man who couldn't get over his love's death. He left me a small piece of paper saying 'the worst way you can remember my love for you is to use it to hide yourself', " she finished that statement with a sigh. "He... he wanted me to be happy, even if he wasn't around"_

_"What did you do?"_

_"I cried. I cried until I fell asleep, night after night. You're going to be a soldier Antonio, a very unsafe job. Even if you're not in the front lines, tinkering with all those fancy computers you seem to love, it's never one hundred percent safe. I hope this never happens to you."_

_"It wasn't easy to lose my father... but I doubt it grandma, I really don't date that often, and it usually doesn't last long. But I'm sorry. It must have been hard to meet Juan after that kind of tragedy..."_

_"My son would have given anything to make sure you were safe, Aj. He'll always be looking out for you. I would have never loved Juan if he hadn't given me that letter. I met him only a month after the 9/11 catastrophe. He was there for me whenever he had time, never asking for anything in return. You never know what the future holds. It may be your friend, your squad-mate, your lover, but never, ever hide your soul." she finished with a teary smile. "You'll make me proud someday, and when that day comes, if I can't tell you that I love you, I'll always be looking out for you."_

* * *

Suddenly his grandma and everything around her started to get blurry. Everything was swirling, and he smelled something, familiar. It smelled like bleach, but it was a lot stronger. His eyed opened to the sight of a quarian visor, and the dark male waving his omnitool over his nose. The smell started to subside.

"Tali?" he weakly asked.

"Yes Aj it's Tali, Fia, you, and I are all what's left. But we're safe now, you stopped the mech" her voice noticeably conveying a small bit of relief.

"Jacob, can you make sure that Miranda's doing her job? I don't want to see any more of that bull shit like earlier" a white male said, who was now kneeling by Tali and Fia.

He glanced over at the darker male, who had stood up. He saluted, and nodded at the male who had ordered him, walking off to obey the command.

"Aj don't worry, I'll scan you to make su-"

"Shepard, you can't do that !"

"Why not?" he was unsure at the hesitation.

"Please, just trust me...he's...on a secret mission with the Alliance." she stated, only lying by omission.

"Why would he be with a group of quarians? What's happened in the past couple of years?"

"It's secret Shepard, please. His name is Antonio Sanchez if you want to look him up, I can promise you that he's working with us."

"Well, I trust you Tali. But I don't know if I can still access those databases. I've been gone for a long time."

"Shepard... why... Cerberus...Do you remember your Admiral...?" Tali vividly remembered finding the poor man dead, injection sites throughout his body, and surrounded by rachni.

"Tali, I woke up yesterday. I...I died over Alchera. Cerberus revived me to investigate missing human colonies." Aj had been listening, but only vaguely, as his head was still awash in nausea. That bit of information did cause his ears to perk.

"But how?"

"Billions of credits, apparently, and a lot of tech. I don't know the details, but it feels like only a day has passed since... But regardless, I'm not working for them, I'm working with them. I can't turn my back on these" he mentioned to the empty colony "kinds of events. We need to stop them."

"You can't trust them Shepard, I hope you know that..."

"I know, but if what they say is true... If the Alliance nor the Council isn't taking actions... I have to protect humanity. Remember what Wrex said? _The enemy of my enemy is my friend. _Friend is a stretch, but what needs to be done... well.."

_Keelah, everything comes back to bite me in the ass..._ "I trust you, but not them. They attacked us, the Idenna, while you were...away."

"You'll have to tell me later. For now, I could really use a trustworthy engineer, not more of these Cerberus mutts. Would you join me Tali'Zorah nar Rayya?" he said, finally removing his stoic expression and smiling a deep, genuine smile. Tali hadn't seen it in years, and whatever doubts she had before of his identity, were put to rest. "And your friend" he pointed at Aj "he could come too, I've never seen someone charge a giant robot and kick its ass like that."

Tali giggled at the mention of her old name, "Actually it's Tali'Zorah vas Neema now, I finished my pilgrimage." She glanced over at Aj, then back at Shepard. "He's...special" she replied with just enough hesitation to cause Shepard to raise an eyebrow. Aj shifted uncomfortably. Fia was listening, but she seemed somewhat out of the loop. She had never seen so many deaths, so much blood, even a felz'elt suicide charge.

"Can you tell me why he's 'special'?"

"No. Only your Admiral Hackett can. I really wish I could but I can't abandon my mission, I'll submit a req- VEETOR!"

Aj, Tali, and Shepard watched Jacob and the light-skinned female he assumed was 'Miranda' walking towards them with a nervously fidgeting quarian between them.

"Veetor, are you okay?" When Veetor saw her and Fia, he quickly bounded over and started nervously chattering. Miranda and Jacob walked by the commander; Jacob seemed content with the progress so far, but Miranda was scowling at Aj.

"Monsters came. I watched, and I hid. Readings... dark energy...powerful electromagnetic...they took.. people screaming..." he stammered

"Veetor, calm down. What did you see?"

Instead of replying, he pulled out his omnitool and played a video.

"Those... those are the Collectors!" Miranda was the first to speak once it concluded.

"The what?" Shepard and Tali replied. Aj was still not sure how to interject into the situation, so just remained quietly sitting on the ground. Fia watched the film, and was shivering next to him, but she looked like she was getting her bearings.

"Collectors, they collect specimens of genetically abnormal or pliable lifeforms; usually they hire mercs for incredible sums of money to do the dirty work, but this..." Jacob said quietly, shaking his head, still in shock over the implications.

"Well, we found our evidence, grab the quarian, and that geth, and let's go back to the base" Miranda remarked

"YOU WILL NOT LAY A FINGER ON VEETOR YOU BOSH'TET !" Tali screamed. "And what the hell are you talking about? There aren't any geth!"

"You can't do anything about it you suit rat" her biotics started to flare, and then she pointed at Aj, "that thing, we all saw the sparking. It was trying to interface with the machine."

Aj immediately stood up and took a defensive stance, expecting the lady to try to attack him or Tali. He would not allow that.

Shepard did something he never thought he would do to a woman. His fist made a swift motion right towards Miranda's face, knocking her down on impact. "Don't you dare disrespect my friends you bitch. Veetor and that guy are going with Tali. Shut the hell up and get back to the shuttle." He then looked at Tali, who had her mouth agape, "But... Tali I need a copy of that video and any of the data feeds he has." he stated, slightly hesitant.

"I promise you Shepard." she giggled a little when Miranda -who now had a wonderfully blackened right eye- glared at her and the commander, and stomped away towards the docking areas. This would likely be brought back up on the ride back.

"Commander, orders?" Jacob asked, taking a step back, nervous at his outburst.

"Help Miranda with the shuttle please" he noticed his hesitation and stook out his hand. Jacob looked at it for a second, wondering at what he was doing, but then extended his own and shook it. "I just don't for stand that kind of behavior, I normally don't treat my crew that way."

Jacob was thoroughly relieved he would not be assaulted. The L5x implants the Commander had would likely overpower his and Miranda's even at the same time. "Yes sir!" he saluted and walked back to where Miranda had headed.

"Do you need any help?" Shepard asked, glancing around at the quarians and Aj.

"We should be fine, but thank you. I'll submit a request to help, but I've been informed I have a few important missions first. I'll do what I can."

Aj had been listening to the conversation, and had deduced that this was the famous spectre he had read about. Also, the repeated 'Shepard' and 'died and back to life' insinuations kind of helped a bit.

"Commander John Shepard?" he stated, Tali and Shepard looked at him for a second, and they both nodded. "I'll tell you a little bit, but this information is strictly confidential."

"Let's hear it soldier, are you a ... new human geth? That kind of... behavior... is not possible"

"I'm a human, Shepard, I've just had a lot of tech stuck in me. One of the benefits is a very powerful skeletal and muscular system, hence why I can stand right now." he glanced at where he hit the wall, which had a large indentation on it where he assumed he'd violently collided. "But that's not all of it...the rest is more...technical. I'm sorry, but I've over stepped my grounds. I'm working for the Migrant Fleet Marines against the geth, though. Under Tali's command of course."

"He's the 'theg'! " Fia quipped happily, she had gotten back to her usual self. _Well as much back to herself as a person can get after witnessing their team get slaughtered._

"The what?" Shepard asked, slightly amused, thoroughly confused.

"The theg! The opposite of a geth!"

"Well, Tali, do you trust him?" he asked, looking at her.

"Yes, he's only been on the fleet for a a little over a month, though, but his situation...nullified any possibility of misinformation." Tali explained.

Shepard was getting sick of these runarounds, so decided on one thing. "If you do join my crew Tali, and you decide to bring him along as well, I'll need to know this stuff."

Aj interjected, "Shepard, I'd tell you myself, but for now... I can't. Those people you work for apparently aren't very well liked by the quarians, and regardless, it's classified", he announced, looking at Tali and Fia for support, both of whom nodded, "But I'd be honored to serve under you when the time comes." he extended out his arm towards Shepard, unsure of what to expect.

He firmly returned the handshake, "Sounds good to me, keep Tali safe...Aj right?"

"Yes sir"

"Well, I need to get back to my shuttle, and Tali?"

"Yes?"

"It's good to see you, this isn't such a bad nightmare after all !" he stated, giving her a quick hug

She smiled, though it was hidden by her visor, "It's good to have you back, just be careful out there"

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Felz'elt:** Term used to describe the state of mind of a person who has just lost their lifemate. Literal translation: Sundered souls. A condition very close to the human emotion of grief when a loved one dies but at a depth that very few humans could experience. This state of being will be always present after their lifemate has joined the Ancestors but can vary in effect. The longer the lifemates were together, the lesser overall effect it has, as there are more memories to lessen the pain.

**Bosh'tet:** Animal, native to Rannoch. With no insect life, other species of life had to fill the niches that on earth fell to the insects. One such niche was the dung beetle. A bosh'tet falls into the category of roller on earth as it moves the dung found to a central location. Though differing in colors, from the green/yellow of the cooler climates to the blue/white in the more tropical areas, they are the same species. Known for their apparent inability to distinguish between dung and small rocks, it is considered extremely stupid. Many have been found dead, surrounded by small rocks, as it tried to feed on them.


	11. Unforseen Alliances

The ride back for Shepard was mercifully free of idiocy. He and Jacob just shot the shit about some past missions. Jacob had been an Alliance soldier, and joined Cerberus because he had felt that he was getting held back. Shepard could understand the sentiment, but did not necessarily approve. Still, at least he didn't seem the sort to shoot him in the back. _Even if he's not Alliance anymore, the man's been taught right. _Miranda, on the other hand, seemed to be on a little pouting spree, sealing herself in the pilot's area. She flew the craft back to base, and did not even speak during the short ride.

"And that's why you never meet the Council after a long day at the bar, my good lad" Shepard exclaimed after giving Jacob one of his invigorating non-combat Spectre tales.

Jacob chuckled thoroughly, and perused, "The turian really called you a filthy primate in front of-"

"Arriving at base in 10 seconds. Autopilot engaged" Miranda spoke, finally leaving the cockpit. _Heh, that place suits her well..._

Once the shuttle landed, the group quickly left the cramped shuttle. After no recognition from Miranda, and a proud salute from Jacob, he made his way towards the QEC. In a moment, the figure of the Illusive Man popped into view.

"Commander Shepard." He began.

"Did the quarians forward the evidence?" Shepard asked, curious if Tali would truly do such a thing..._Just because I asked, she'd send intel to one of her people's worst enemy?_

"Yes, I'm surprised. They have not been as, cooperative, since the Idenna. It does prove the Collectors are behind the attacks" The man replied stoically.

Shepard was surprised to say the least, but was now scowling at the man. "That bit I missed, what the hell did you do to them?" He could not hide the spite in his voice. "And you don't really seem surprised."

"Any search and retrieval mission, for one of our operatives might I add, into a fleet of that side is risky. We failed in our objective, as we were trying to do it with little incident." He answered in a monotone voice, surprising Shepard with his composure. "And as to the Collectors, I had my suspicions, but nothing to confirm it. Now we have a lead."

"Well, I've agreed to let a quarian unto my team when she completes her personal objectives; I expect her to be treated appropriately when the time comes" , Shepard announced, and shortly after he added, "And they've got to be very highly advanced, I don't know how we can defeat them, even with your resources."

"One of the individuals I'd like you to recruit may be able to even the odds in that section." He took a drag out off his ciggarette and continued, "We don't have anything against their kind, Shepard, and speaking of her, I wanted to hear your opinion on the human she had along with her."

"You talking about the guy who tackled the mech?"

"Yes, he seemed... upgraded. Rarely am I perplexed by any technological advancement. His traits seemed, strange. Are you allowing him to join your team?" The Illusive Man seemed actually excited about the prospect.

"Most likely, Tali seemed to approve, and he struck me as a decent guy, why?"

"I just like to know what you're doing Shepard. This is my operation, but you are the one doing the dirty work. I'm not going to start questioning you now, but I assume you've seen the evidence?"

"Yeah, I told you if we didn't find any your two operatives would be here alone." The commander stood defiantly previously, but now was reluctantly accepting this terrorist's aid.. deep inside he was extremely conflicted.

The man took a sip of scotch, then stared at the commander with his piercing strange eyes. "I see one of them is slightly injured, however, by your doing."

Shepard crossed his arms, defending his position. "She threatened my old crew member, I will not tolerate that kind of behavior."

"Very well, keep her on board, though. She may be difficult to get along with, but she knows what she's doing. That is... unless you'd like to keep track of all the supplies and miniscule details towards running a ship."

"Fine, I'll keep the girl, but I won't hesitate to have her removed if any more acts of insubordination occur." Shepard said lacking any enthusiasm.

"A reasonable approach. I'm glad, we may never be friends, but this threat is more important than anything humanity has ever faced."

As sad as he was to admit it, he was in concurment with this evil tycoon. "Yeah, on that we can agree on. I just hope everyone else sees it the same way, sooner rather than later. What is the next step? I plan on seeing the Council as soon as possible"

"If you honestly think they can help us by all means. That'd be a welcome and unexpected variable in our favor, but remember, things have changed in the past two years, especially since your incident where you decided to berate them on an alcohol induced rage."

Shepard was normally a stoic individual, and a sarcastic bastard, rarely did he let his true emotions show. This was not one of those times, and he ended up blushing and scratching the back of his neck like a kid half-handed in the cookie jar, "Yeah, not my best move. Nobody told me salarians could make such a mean stout. But back to business, you said you had something for me?"

"I promised you a ship, and I've forwarded a few dossiers to your private terminal onboard. Plus, I found a pilot you may like, someone you can trust" with that, he cut the communication.

He turned around and started walking away from the communication floorpiece. _I wonder what kind of ship he got me, probaly some crappy Elcor transp- _he never finished his thought as he looked up at the crippled snickering pilot he'd always verbally sparred with, friendly banter of course.

"Hey Commander, just like old times, eh?"

* * *

"Aj?" Tali whispered since Fia was asleep nearby. The shuttle was on autopilot, only an hour away from the fleet.

"Yeah Tali?" Aj answered while stretching his arms.

"Are you trying to sleep?" The admiral's daughter added hesitantly.

"No, I was just thinking..."_about that dream...I miss grandma...Isa...Dad..._ Apparently he had been staring at the door for over twenty minutes.

The young quarian scooted by him, touching his shoulder with hers. "You know, I always thought humans were crazy, but I think you proved it today." She laughed quietly, and then scooted away, embarrassed by her 'accidental' contact. "Really, thanks though"

"For what?" he chuckled, albeit slightly confused at her behavior. _Quarians are a lot more social than humans though, and used to cramped quarters I guess._

Tali looked at him as though he had just excreted a live bosh'tet. "You saved our lives Aj..."

Aj waved her off, darkening slightly. "Naw, I just helped. Like you and everyone else. There's nothing to thank for."

"Oh hush, it was incredible and you know it." Tali added happily.

"I just don't feel like I did well, it's just us three...and Veetor of course." He answered, shrugging off the compliment.

Tali looked at him oddly, noting how much he sounded...like...like Shepard? She quickly returned to the situation at hand, however."I still can't believe what happened to everyone...Jib and Vida were both excellent snipers. I didn't know them very well, but I hadn't found anything I didn't like about them. Prazza, I won't lose any sleep over. I would never wish for him to die, but he brought it upon him self." She growled at the thought of him accusing her of treason, "Laor, the poor girl. She died in extreme pain, you know that? Quarians have a deep, almost spiritual bond to their lifemates. For it to happen in the middle of a fight...Well, I hope she's found peace among the Ancestors."

"Hey hey, don't you growl at me!" He joked, trying to lighten the mood, "But it's more than just saddening. I can't believe how many people died thanks to that asshole..."

Tali scratched the side of her helmet, a trait she had acquired from her extended tenure aboard a human vessel. "Well, at least we got Veetor back, and Shepard... I can't believe that he's back. That bosh'tet better not get himself killed again before we join his squad" Shaking her head, she added, "Regardless of what you say, that was very brave. Thank you" She had unknowingly put her hand on his thigh, but quickly removed it when he responded stuttering in nervousness.

He blushed to himself. _They must be... very social...?_ "I...Well, any sold-"

"And now you're blushing!" She exclaimed, giggling happily at the guilty human.

"No I'm not !" Her accusal, however, fueled the red outburst, furthering his embarrassment.

"Well, I know you'll have two very grateful Admirals waiting on you." Tali said happily, and slightly confused at her own actions. _Am I flirting... with a human? Oh keelah..._

"I know your dad will be happy, who else?" He asked quizzically, in vain trying to stop her talented methods of embarrasing him.

Tali matter-of-factly retorted, "Fia, she's Admiral Shala'Raan's daughter"

"Well, maybe they'll get me better rations; I don't know what they feed the Alliance troops, but I swear that meatloaf had been dead before I was even born." He pouted, feigning a disgusted look.

"You're a bosh'tet, Aj, I hope you know that." She paused a second before continuing in a sly, joking tone. " Do you want to try our quarian rations instead?"

_You know what? Why the hell not actually? _Faking an annoyed sigh, which she caught easily, he said, "Tell you what, if you beat me at the firing range, I'll drink a single turian beer. If I win, you have to drink a human beer, deal? The Alliance thankfully decided to send me a couple of cases at a 'special request' "

"But that's turian!" She said, thoroughly displeased at the dextro homogenization.

"Well, do you have quarian ale?" Aj asked raising an eyebrow in happy suspicion.

She sighed sasly, but perked up at the end, "No we don't have room for a brewery on the fleet... Fine! We have tablets what should keep you alive when you lose primate"

He raised an eyebrow in a fake offence "Which reminds me, you never got me a banana?"

"I swear, you're an idiot" She laughed loudly at his expense.

"Oh really?" He started to focus on his omnitool, causing it to activate and a specific set of information to directly interface to his mind

"Aj what are you doing?" she yelped, startled by the sudden sparks. They only lasted a couple of seconds though.

"Please keep it down..." Fia murmured before nodding back off to sleep. Veetor was in a medically-induced sleep for his own protection, and wouldn't wake up to anything short of an explosion.

"Done!" His omnitool blinked off, and he was sporting an extremely large grin.

"Done with what?" Tali asked nervously.

He smugly smiled at the young quarian, "Well since you always call me a primate, I decided to do a little research on your kind!"

Miss Zorah was not as thrillled as he was. "Oh? What'd you find?" _Please don't tell me he fou-_

"Hehe, this thing" He opened up a picture what looked like a cross between a sabre-toothed tiger and a kangaroo; a bipedal, fanged, slender animal with three toes and long claws. "Now I know where quarians came from!"

"Where ...did you find that!?" She whimpered nervously. The historical archives of the flotilla were well-hidden from outsiders.

"I pulled a few favors from Kal, I let him shoot my snowball launcher remember?" He snickered devilishly, "So, now I can call you either a cat or a marsupial!"

She pulled out her omnitool and searched for a few pictures on the illusive animals mentioned. After a few moments, she crossed her arms under her breasts in disapproval. "Absolutely not! I do not look like those !"

"Mhm. Sure. Nobody would know, hiding behind your mask! Did you look up what a koala looks like?" He added with a smirk.

"Um, no?" She quickly looked up the specific image on her tool, but she was getting groggy, and it took a little longer than normal. Once she found it, she gasped before glaring up at him, "Some asari matriarchs say we look a lot like humans, so hush your mouth! You're lucky I'm tired"

"So you're a primate too?" He ask. Aj heard what sounded distinctly like a yawn, and was rather tired himself.

Yawning, she chimed, "Nope, we never lived in trees... we ran.. grass..." She stretched her arms, making a slight purring sound.

"Yeah, you're definitely from a cat." Before she could hiss back something undoubtedly impolite, he added, "I'm getting really tired too, though. Let's catch some shut-eye before we get there?" He passed out a few minutes later while Tali said she had to forward the report first.

* * *

His statement would end up placing him in an unusual situation. Aj was thoroughly embarassed. He awoke with his head leaning on Tali's helmet, which was incidently leaning on his shoulder. Even more discombobulating was that he awoke to the snickering of Fia; before he could articulate a response, Tali immediately scurried away and all he could hear from her was '_Keelah...'_ before she disappeared into the cockpit.

"Hehe, that was very cute. You're lucky you woke up, we're a few minutes away from the fleet. No doubt Rael's waiting after he heard the mission report." Fia stated casually, but soon her tone became more teasing. "You might have ended up on the wrong side of an airlock."

"Wait, what? I heard asari prefer aliens, but I didn't think you quarians had a thing for them too" He teased right back, but it was not nearly as nonchalant; in the back of his mind he had two pictures in his mind. One of them was Harumi, the day she revealed she was carrying his child, and the other was of his grandma, vaguely remembering the flashback he had on Freedom's Progress. _What am I thinkng...were not even the same species...and Harumi...I miss her_... _Barely over a month ago to me... over a century to everyone else.._. He thought to himself.

"Not many of us have ever seen your kind!" She nervously sputtered noticing his hesitation "Besides, I've actually never heard of a quarian bonding outside their race. There's sometimes a few flings with a turian or asari on their Pilgrimages, but nothing serious, and never past the suit."

Shaking his head, he replied whimsically, "Hah, well, curiosity killed the cat."

"Cat?" she questioned turning her head sideways slightly, almost like a confused puppy.

"Nothing, old human saying" He quickly answered,earning a small laugh from the quarian.

"Hey, now you're changing the subject !" She quipped with a grin.

"Yeah, it's...I'm sorry... I just don't know... what to think about that." He replied in a mournful tone unable to articulate his emotions.

"Oh ... did.. you see what happened to Laor?" Fia hesitantly reciprocated. After seeing him nod, she continued, "Well, when we bond, we unite and feel as one soul. Instead of two people with two souls, there is two people sharing one soul. She must have felt an incredible pain, like her soul was torn to shreds, but literally. It's a deep trust, and, well not many races are the same. Salarians are all about data and contracts, turians pair up due to honor or rank, and asari will literally sleep with anything..." She was rather knowledgeable, as her Pilgrimage had just ended a few months back.

Aj sighed, staring at the same wall as earlier, as Fia looked at him curiously. Aj began to speak after a few seconds of silence, "Humans have this thing called marriage, it's were we proclaim our love to someone, and officially bond as a couple"

Seeing some sort of resemblance, Fia curiously asked, "Is the... mah-rria-juh?...for life?"

Aj chuckled weakly at her odd pronounciation, but it didn't last. "Yeah, marriage, but it can be... broken if one of the partners choses it so; I heard quarian bondings are for life, they had been even before the suits made it 'necessary.' " He countered, air-quoting the last word.

Without thinking, she perused further, "Did your marriage partner decide to leave you?" Fia immediately regretted the question..._Oh keelah, he probaly thinks I'm a nosey little -_

Aj flinched noticeably, slumping in his seat. "She didn't...It was...not by choice." He just couldn't continue on the topic without feeling miserable... "Please.. I don't want to elaborate...apparently it's been over 140 years...but for me, it's been barely a month..."

Fia looked at his eyes, which reciprocated a deep hurt. She quietly began to apologize, "I'm sorry! I -"

Before she could continue, Tali left the cockpit and announced, "We've... been confirmed, ETA 30 seconds, we're finally here". Little did Aj or Fia know, the normally excited and optomistic young woman was on the verge of tears. She had heard every single word of their conversation, and thoroughly felt like a terrible person for intruding...She wasn't just depressed because of the obvious eavesdropping, but for her own behavior towards the human recently...her own strange desires, on which she was still not quite sure her feelings. But what she did know... He had not only saved her, but done everything he could to be nice to her since regaining conciousness, something nobody else on the fleet had done. Tali quietly sat down, asking the Ancestors for guidance on her own personal confusion.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the airlock, the two Admirals were indeed awaiting them. The actions, at least by one, were unexpected. Rael did something he hadn't done in many years; when the shuttle doors open, he quickly strided up to Tali and tightly embraced her. Beside her, Fia and Shala had ended up in the same situation, but the normally composed Shala'Raan was silently crying into her shoulder whispering. She obviously ecstatic to see her daughter alive and unharmed, and even Rael was showing his more compassionate side. As the scene played out, a medical team had carefully loaded Veetor unto a gurney, then whisked him away to likely a medical/psychiatric facility.

"Tali... I'm so glad you're safe. " Admiral Zorah stammered quietly, again a rare occurance.

Aj looked at the two Admirals -both happily embracing their offspring- and decided he should allow them their privacy. "Admirals" He saluted, making eye contact with both of them quickly, and started to walk away. Before he turned the corner, however, Shala ran up and grabbed his shoulder, surprising the human.

After a slightly embarrassing jump, he questioned, "Yes Admiral Raan?"

The Admiral rather quietly answered, "The Admiralty board wishes to speak with you about your current mission... and no... it has nothing to do with the other human commander you met. Tali will be debriefed on that particular encounter later." Her voice was almost a whisper, but conveying an emotion he could not particularly put his finger on. Apparently finished with her elaboration, she motioned for him to follow.

_Shit... what are they going to say about the quarians what didn't make it out? _Aj gulped in fear, but nodded, falling in step behind Shala. He had no intentions of refusing an Admiral's order.

Tali saw Shala say something, then noticed Aj tense up in fear. _Oh keelah no... they're going to blame him for the deaths?_ Tali panicked, and focused back on Rael, her eyes shining with fear as well. "Father what are you doing!? You...you are not going to punish him... are you? He did nothing wr-"

"No child, he will not be punished, please don't worry." Rael interrupted, surprisingly in a non-condescending tone, "I would like for you to come, however."

Reassured by the tone, and hopefully her father's sincerity, Tali nodded. She nervously followed behind Shala, Fia, and Aj with her father at her side.

In a quiet trek to the Neema's social enclave, Tali and Fia were extremely surprised to see the other three Admirals waiting, albeit Admiral Koris and Xen were holographically represented at their respective sites. Usually, Admirals only presided in full for an important event or trial. The speaking area was packed full of quarians, and all of them stood more silent than normal. Tali was absolutely terrified for the human, as it almost looked like a trial set-up.

When they approached, Raan and Rael departed from their children, and casually stood beside Admiral Gerrel. Not too far behind him, the two daughters stood at attention, both conceiving ways to defend the human if indeed this was a trial. Tali's fingers were nervously wringing, as she did not expect a positive outcome.

Rael looked around the auditorium, and many of the crowd seated themselves. The Admiral began with a prayer to the Ancestors, and after everyone said 'keelah se'lai', he finally began the meeting. "Major Antonio Sanchez, we have reviewed your actions on Freedom's Progress, along with your current affiliation predicaments, and actions towards the fleet in the month you've been on board the Neema."

Aj gulped, his fear only increasing. _Shit, are they going to kick me out, or exile me? Send me to the nearest levo colony and I'm stuck fending for my-_ His thoughts were interrupted as Shala continued. "Often, a quarian must complete a Pilgrimage in order to be considered worthy of the fleet. They are tasked to bring something of value to the fleet, as we need everything we can get to protect our ships."

Tali and Fia interchanged confused looks, and both seemed to relax a little, noticing the calm demeanor of the Admirals. _What is going on? And why are they talking about Pilgrimages..? Are they going to make him go on one? _ Tali sulked at the implications of that, and her fingers continued their neverending battle for arial supremacy.

"You, however, have brought us back something that can never be valued", Shala continued, standing a bit taller and prouder. "You risked your own life to save two of our daughters, our only and beloved children."

Rael then stepped back in, "We understand you would have difficulty returning to human space, due to issues we have discussed privately with the Admirals" All of the Admirals nodded in unison at his remark. "Your actions have proved that you do not only serve the human Alliance, but all those around you, regardless of their differences."

Shala then went on, "Admiral Hackett was informed of your actions on the colony, and decided to rescend your official Major rank status as an honorable discharge, should you accept. He would continue to fiscally support you as civilian benefactor to the Alliance military by sending levo-based rations as well as any necessary items might require at a later date. He described it as a position reserved to those who serve the human race, but do not directly follow orders from the 'brass' ".

Aj's shoulders slumped, and he momentarily looked at the ground._ So I really did get kicked ou-_

Again, before his detrimental thoughts continued, Admiral Gerrel put his hands behind his back, proclaiming, "Antonio Sanchez, we wish to officially recognize you as Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema, a member of our fleet. We have never accepted a non-quarian into our ranks, but we have also never known someone such as yourself. Although your biological talents are of merit, they are not the reason we offer you this choice. We believe you would not only serve the fleet to the best of your ability, as you've already shown, but also help us form an alliance with humanity itself, as they have treated us with a respect we have rarely seen among the galaxy."

For a long moment, Aj's mind was unable to form a coherent reply. _A.. a part of the fleet? And the first non-human? _For an indescribably short period of time, he wondered if anything about him would ever be normal. Fortunately, his military training had prepared him for situations addressing individuals of a high status, but it still was a terrifying experience.

"I would be honored to accept the name and status which comes with it." He paused for a moment, and before anyone could interject, he continued in a more somber tone, "I've lost everyone I know...my family, friends...the ones I loved... everything I owned...but what's past is the past..." That last statement struck a chord with him, and he glanced at a certain quarian with a smile. "Tali has taught me the fleet is more or less a large family; the fact that you would allow me to be a part of it, is a feeling I cannot describe." His voice cracked, but he forged ahead, "I sincerely thank you, with all the earnestness I can muster, for this opportunity to serve with the wonderful people I've come to know and proudly call my friends" He finished, still in shock over what he just accepted.

The entire auditorium cheered in applause, while Aj received enough hand shakes to break a normal shoulder blade. When his arm was finally done greeting new shipmates, one shipmate in particular -miss Zorah- didn't even bother extending a hand, instead wrapping him in a tight embrace.

Admiral Rael Zorah looked at the scene, his daughter tightly embracing the giant Puerto Rican. _Humans are strange when it comes to friendly greetings... it is good she has become accustomed to their ways, especially now._ He walked off casually, merely thinking she was greeting him in the customary human fashion.


	12. Words Left Unspoken

Note to all readers: I really appreciate those who've been reviewing my story. I really want your opinions, and don't be afraid to hurt my feelings. Thanks for your support! **THIS AND THE NEXT CHAPTER TAKE PLACE 'SIMULTANEOUSLY**

The life on board the fleet was very demanding, but not overtaxing. It was a constant blur of activity, but necessary rests were not forsaken. He also noticed most of the social aspects of quarian culture were not in the privacy of a personal room, but among the rest of the shipmates. His old Puerto Rican habits were starting to come back to him, but he still had a difficult time reading their emotions. _Damn visors are so confusing, I still don't get why they're tinted,_ He always thought to himself.

If he wasn't on active duty as a Protector (basically the quarian version of a police officer), he sometimes volunteered for routine engine maintanence with Tali. She was by far his closest friend, but not just because she fun to be around, even when it involved working. Aj wasn't sure why, but he just felt almost protective of her, especially after seeing how her father constantly berated her. Aside from teasing his favorite quarian, the free time was often spent at the routine shooting with Kal, and the occasional chat with Fia, often via omnitool . She had been reassigned to a task she was better suited towards, and proudly served her mother's ship as the leader of a salvage unit, which had far less combat.

Sometimes, when Aj was just out of range of the almost omni-obervant shipload of quarians, he tested his 'abilities'. He tried to get used to the quick streaming of information, but it was akin to reading a book within a snap of the fingers...still, practice makes perfect. His electrical... combat?... prowess was even more difficult to train, but sometimes he'd shock the hell out of his bed for shits and giggles, though it was never as large as the ones which had arrived with the mech. One time Kal managed to catch him in mid training session, and the poor marine nearly had a heart attack. Surprising his suited comrades was one of his current favorite pass times, especially with Tali.

One day in particular, Aj was trying to boost the output of the Neema's engines. Tali was supervising, which consisted mostly of her fixing his mistakes, then a few profanities, ending with her showing him the better solution. This time, however... he tried something new.

Tali shouted at her terminal in frustration. "Work you stupid machine! Keelah, three times and still it's not reading clear!"

"Hey Tali, I've got a great idea!" Aj said excitedly as he closed the engine terminal, failing to find the current problem with the output. It was a short and narrow hallway near the back of the ship, and currently was only populated by the two.

Tali was still hard at work, never giving up on solving the problem; she was still at the other terminal to his right, but turned to face the human. "Your last 'great idea' nearly shortcircuited the gravity control system!" She replied exasperatedly.

Aj blushed slightly, remembering the entire shipwide moment of vertigo as thousands of quarians suddenly became airborne aboard the ship. Only thanks to Tali's quick thinking did it only last for a few seconds, and she bull shitted an excuse, earning a grateful human in the process. Tali, on the other hand, could tell exactly that he was blushing, but had no time to continue. "I want to...well... interface with the engines, I think it'd be easier to find this issue." He said it very cautiously to prevent-

Tali's eyes immediately narrowed into an undoubtedly displeased expression. "Bosh'tet! You remember what happened when you tried to access the extranet? What makes you think an engine will be any...?" She scowled, and stopped arguing as he apparently decided to charge ahead anyway. Tali was not amused...to say the least.

As soon as she said bosh'tet, Aj leaned against the console. I remember that...but I just want to access the ship schematics... He started thinking about the engines, and instantly his vision went black.

'Accessing ship schematics.' A strange mechanical voice iterated.

In a moment, the entire ship's layout became known to him. He was glancing at the eezo capacitor while simultaneously viewing the heat diffusion system. Instantaneously, tens of thousands different data feeds flooded his brain, much more than he anticipated from one ship. He managed to isolate and correct a faulty calculation, fixing the outputs, but was only rewarded with an intense migrane in return. He quickly cut the feed mentally, clutching his head in pain. As he opened his eyes, an extremely unhappy quarian awaited him. _Shit..._ He attempted to be coy, "So..., I fixe-"

Unfortunately, three digits powerfully collided with the side of his head; the human reeled in pain as Tali stood unmoving. She angrily shouted, "You idiot! Every single ship is connected to that network? Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

Aj shamefully looked at the ground, still clutching his head in pain. "It was an accident Tali, I wasn't trying to do that...h I'm sorry." He felt his nose was leaking, though it was not from Tali's slap, and soon found a few red specks dotting the inside of his mask. He looked back up at the narrowed silver slits.

As soon as his eyes met hers, Tali's eyes widened immensely. She quickly closed the distance, pulling out her omnitool. "Oh keelah ! I'm sorry, I did not mean to hit you so hard." He felt the soothing feeling of medigel as she nervously rambled on, "But you know you shouldn't stress your system because you've been asleep for years and your mind may not be ready for that and if you got hu-"

Aj grabbed her wrist, stopping likely a second dose of medigel from entering his body. Her eyes were still wide as they remet his, and he calmly stated, "Tali, it's not from you. Whatever I did on the terminal must have been a bit too much information for now, and probaly popped a blood vessel."

This did little to ease the young quarian's fears, and she yanked her wrist from his grasp. Aj blushed as he noticed he had held it for longer than he anticipated, but she seemed not to notice. She rapidly grabbed his hand and began tugging him away, but only met resistance. Tali impatiently ordered, "You need to see a doctor, now."

Even though her tone left no room for arguement, he resisted. "Tali, I'm fine. I don-"

"You don't know that!" Tali interrupted worridly, again pulling at his wrist.

He again resisted, resorting to his work initiative. "Were not done on the engines...why waste time and resources on something so small." _I really don't want to go to the doctor... _"And it's just a nosebleed...I'll be fine."

To his surprise, Tali let go of his wrist, quietly slumping her shoulders. He was about to ask what was wrong, but her weak, quivering voice stopped him. "I've already lost my friends... even though Shepard's back...keelah, it was still...painful...then another thanks to an explosion down on Virmire..." She paused suddenly, closing her eyes. Unknown to him, a tear escaped her cheek as she remembered having to leave him behind. "I don't want to lose another...especially to something so... small." She slumped further, and sadly added, "But, I'm sorry for the way I've behaved...I'll leave you alone."

Aj just stared at the now distraught quarian, quickly walking over and embracing her. _Isa did the same thing... always putting herself down..._To say she was surprised was an understatement, and she awkwardly returned the unexpected maneuver. "Well, fine...I'll go to the doctor, but I have no clue where that's at. I could use some help." He apparently forgot that he could probaly access a local terminal for a map, or likely just wanted her company.

Tali quickly perked up when hewas completed. She happily stated, "Okay primate!" She happily grabbed his wrist, tugging him out of the corridor and to everyone's favorite place to go, a scalpel-happy, tooth-yanking, all-in-one quarian doctor. Although the scans eventually proved his nonchalant assertion, she seemed thoroughly relieved to hear he was safe. _At least I know I can trust her._

The next couple of weeks had been slightly boring for the only human aboard the fleet. The initial uproar from the quarian race was mixed at the beginning. The older quarian ships who had seen nothing but prejudice from aliens obviously were not too thrilled with the addition, even without knowing of his synthetic half. However, most the younger groups seemed to approve; after all, this man had not only saved two Admiral's daughters by risking his own life (details withheld, of course), but also was held in high regard among the Alliance. Reluctantly, the older groups had started to accept his new official rank among them, even if only to further a political gain with the newest race on the Council. He had proven himself useful, and wasn't causing any problems among his ship. He proudly owned the name Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema, although most of the ship had already gotten to know him by the usual Aj.

Everything was starting to fall in place, or so it seemed. Almost every day, he would get a personal visit from Tali. Ever since they had 'met' on his first day aboard the fleet, he felt a strange connection towards her. Not one of lust or overly sexual-desire, but protectiveness. He did find her figure extremely attractive - albeit strange with the knee orientation and three-fingers - but he still had the unpleasant weight on his shoulders, and never thought too deeply of it. She was always nice to him, and he already knew, deep down, if he had to, he would put himself between a bullet and her.

He had headed towards the range, expecting to find Kal or some of his new squadmates at the range. Although he and Tali had been assigned to the new unit of 20, they still hadn't actually completed a mission yet. They did have an objective, somewhere far away, called Haestrom. It would be his first one as a true fleet member. The young Reegar did not seem to mind relinquishing command to his closest friend on the fleet, and most of the squad was happy to know he was still second in command. Aj had no qualms against being third, thankfully, and the squad had been fine with his rank. _A squad with only Reegar and Tali ahead of me? Beats the hell out of Prazza._ Surprising him, however, at the range was a certain quarian he could easily call his best friend.

"Heya Tali, what's up?" He said happily surprised while closing the distance.

"Just ready to beat you at your own game" Tali retorted smugly.

_Ar_e_ we going to do a banana eating contest or something? _Aj asked, obviously confused, "What do you mean?"

"I didn't forget about our bet! I already have a crate of turian beers I.. acquired. Pulled a few strings, yelled at a few bosh'tets, and bam. You'd be surprised what yelling can do on the flotilla" She nonchalantly replied

Aj's unsure expression immediately contorted into a wide smirk as he walked beside her. "Ah, so you're ready to taste some human beer? I still have a few crates left..." _I still wonder why Hackett deems it a 'necessary resource to ensure stability' but I sure as hell ain't complaining._

She scoffed with a wave of her hand, "Yeah sure, you scared to lose bosh'tet?"

Aj crossed his arms, his smirk widening. "Won't your father throw me out an airlock for beating the fleet's princess?"

Tali crossed her arms as well, but had a definite frown. "I told you, we do not have social ranking systems on our fleet!"

Aj chuckled at her, earning a swift punch to the gut, albeit not very forceful. He faked an exasperated tone as he began, finishing excitedly, "Yeah yeah, lock and load... It'll be fun to beat the queen of the bosh'tets at her own game!"

Tali giggled lightly, but switched to a more serious tone as they approached the shooting line. "Better be ready. Tomorrow, we go to Haestrom. I don't think you've ever fought a geth, but they're not...what do you humans call it... a 'cay-kuh walhk'?

Laughing at her odd pronounciation and extra-syllabled version of the saying, he just pointed at the range and loaded his rifle, while she followed suit.

The two targets on the range were at a simulated 150m -to have a complete useless space that large would be a crime, and it only was about 20m, but holograms were pretty damn advanced, and the dummy rounds thankfully were non-damaging- and she pulled out a weapon she hardly used, but always carried, the M-96 Mattock.

After about ten minutes, the score was dead tied.

"Okay, so next shot wins?" Tali asked while turning to face the human.

"What, you're already tired? Hah!" He gibed thoroughly laughing at her half-glare half-smile retort.

"No fre'eg, just we still need to prepare for tomorrow's mission." She said as if lecturing a child.

Aj reluctantly sighed..._Man Tali... always the voice of reason..._"Fine... next shot wins, okay? Let's g-"

The slight delay, however, completely changed the circumstances as a shot was fired, and a target registered a perfect hit. Fia had popped in for a visit, sneakily ruining the facade.

"I WIN !" she squealed happily while dropping her Predator pistol

"Fia? What are you doing here?" Tali asked flustered at the unfortunate turnaround.

"I just came by to tell you that Shala knows about your little crate of goodies, and asked me to warn you not to be a 'immature bosh'tet' and end up exploding the Neema...and if the gravity goes out again, Aj will become very good friends with the ship's floor cleaning equipment. " she replied without missing a beat, "Anyways since I won your childish little competition, I say you both take a drink, but don't kill yourselves! Bye!" She left, laughing to herself while unknowingly and narrowly dodging Tali's thermal clip.

"Well, that was unexpected..." Aj murmured... After a brief pause of brevity, he added, "Well, she did hit the target, so I hope you're thirsty"

Sighing to herself, Tali antiphoned "Fine, I will try one of your nasty beers, but you know you still have to drink one of mine!"

They made their way to the transport shuttle and back to the Neema, where the crate of turian alcoholic beverages had mysteriously already arrived in his room, mostly empty due to the relocation into the rather large Alliance-given cooling unit.

"How'd you get it here?" He stated as the decontamination cycle did its job. The Neema had a room prepared for visitors to the fleet, by medical emergency or otherwise, and they decided to switch it to his permanent quarters shortly after his official recognition into the records. Gerrel seemed to know that his armor suit was definitely not something anyone would want to permanently live in.

"I told you that I was going to win, you're just lucky Fia made it so I have to now." Tali said defiantly crossing her arms as the second door opened, revealing his room. As she saw him remove his armor, revealing his normal clothing, she thought to herself, _I still can't believe he has an airlock in his room. An entire airlock for one room!?_ She sadly looked at her hands, wishing she could simply feel what even grabbing the chair felt like without the suit's everlasting protection.

"Yeah sure, you were already starting to slack!" Before she could voice what her frown said wordlessly, he interrupted with a grin. "Ever heard of Guiness stout? It's been around since before we even had electricity."

Aj was pulling out a bottle from his cooling unit as she retorted. "Keelah, I don't know which is more surprising, how long a beer company can stay around or the fact that it was less than 500 years ago." She wholeheartedly laughed at his species' expense

"You just can't get enough of making fun of us humans can you?" His fake offense did not at all stiffle the teasing

"Of course not, I told you, back on the Normandy, me and Garrus never stopped bothering Shepard! He always called us three Team Dextro, but he's a human." She shook her head still giggling. "Besides, you always make fun of us quarians!"

"I couldn't even imagine walking around with my legs bent like that." He answered chuckling, and returned to the smiling miss Zorah with a beer in his hand. "So what's on the menu? And you'd better have those tablets ready, I'd prefer not to lose a stomach. I'm not a krogan like you, no spares."

"Fre'eg, here you go." She rebutted handing him a small tablet and a bottle "It's Jiklatx ale, and that pill could keep you alive through a ryncol if you really wanted to test your krogan-ness." _Keelah, I haven't made fun of people since the Normandy...we quarians don't often speak like that...I wish we did..._

"Cheers!" He celebrated before literally cracking open the pear-shaped bottle; she managed to open the Guiness and slipped an 'induction port' into it.

After slamming it down with the pill, he noticed she was still only a third done with hers.

"That stuff's weird tasting, almost like a liquified, sour, piece of bologna. C'mon Tali! I thought you were an adult in the eyes of the quarians, I've seen infants with stronger stomachs." He jabbed while getting a more familiar tasting beverage from the unit.

"I can't help it !" She whined defensively, pointing at her induction port. "This stupid straw won't decontaminate any faster, you know that!" After a few more sips she added, "This is strange, it's like, an herbal wine, bitter, but, well strange." She eventually managed to finish the beer, and rapidly grabbed one of the Jiklatxs.

"Well, we're both still alive, so that's a good sign." Aj said happily after taking his first swig of human beer.

Tali giggled, taking a sip of her more familiar concoction. "It would be a sad day if a Reaper couldn't kill me, but a human's beer could."

"A Reaper?" He asked questioningly after taking a long swig. He closed his eyes, focusing on the specific word. _Reaper. _Within moments, he found the information in the quarians information databank, which was directly interfaced with his omnitool. _Added by Tali'Zorah? _It showed the battle of the Citadel, a giant monstrous machine clasping into the middle of an even larger floating space station. Soon after, the main photo of the data file appeared. It showed a man in the middle, labeled Commander John Shepard, then a turian called Garrus on his right...and a quarian on his left..._Tali? _To the left of Tali was a large krogan named Wrex, and to the right of Garrus an asari...Liara T'soni. he continued, "How did you all manage to take down that giant robotic cuddlefish?"

After quickly looking up the strange animal he mentioned, she giggled, "Wow, it really does look like that, but that wasn't even our full squad; we left Shepard's girlfriend on the ship, she was critically injured before we...acquired it." Seeing his eyebrow raise, a meaningless expression to most quarians considering their lack of said hair patch, was a well-known emotion to her. "Just pay attention bosh'tet and you'll know why we stole it. It started on this planet called Illos..."

What began as a repartee slowly evolved into a full-fledged dramatization of the events. The story was a tantilizing tale of twisted tyrannical robots hell bent on taking over the known galaxy. From a strange baby-relay to facing a metallic abomination of a turian, he had never heard such an interesting tale, only pausing to either get another beverage for himself or her, or to ask a few questions. By the time she finished, it had been over two hours, and both had long ago felt the effects of the nefarious beverages.

"Wow.. I can't believe that" He slowly remarked after she had finished her tale.

"Why not?" _Does he think I can't fight?_ Tali looked at him curiously.

"No, I mean, that's impressive" Aj said, still in awe, thoroughly impressed by the quarian before him.

"Do you really think so?" Tali asked; she had never told anyone except her father the entire story... even Kal and Shala, and he was more concerned why she didn't gather data for the fleet.

"It's nothing short of amazing, Tali. That's crazy how advanced those machines are, and yet you lived to tell the tale!" Aj answered happily.

"I've always hated robots, but now even more so." Tali said, instinctively shrugging the compliment.

Aj took a long drink from his... something over 10th beer, then chuckled. With a mockingly offended tone, he pouted, "And yet you still call me theg."

Tali giggled happily, exclaiming, "But it's funny!" She swatted his arm, then pointed at an exceptionally glistening patch near his wrist.

Aj used the said wrist to shove her playfully, but he unintentionally pushed her from her nearly off her seat, and had to get up to stop her slow descent to the side. "Geez Tali, you're a real lightweight." He wasn't in any better situation, but he also had nearly twice as much as she did. _Little quarians and their fancy schmancy straws, or maybe my liver's just upgraded... that'd be bad ass!_

"Aj, I want to ask you something from shuttle." She blurbed, slurring ever so slightly.

"Shoot?" He recalled when she fell asleep on his shoulder...but she was an alien, right?

"Again? Keelah..." She giggled a little louder and longer than normal for an obviously unknown reason. "But really, you were talking to Fia..."

"Yeah, and?" he was a bit confused, and slightly nervous... _What did sh-_

"You said you were married?" her normal beat-around-the-bush attitude was apparently awash due to again an 'unknown' addition to her body's normal homeostasis. Her hands, however, had not gotten the memo, and quickly began their dance for dominance.

"No... I didn't..." He sadly remarked, immediately changing the room's mood from carefree to gloom. Aj quickly turned away, not really wanting to continue.

She perused anyway, confident due to either alcoholic beverages, or perhaps genuine curiosity. "You said had a part-"

AJ turned to face her quickly, and somewhat angrily growled, "Damnit Tali, I don't want to talk about it."

_I've never seen him mad before... except fort he first day..._Dejectedly, Tali looked down at her hands, and Aj immediately felt like an asshole. He didn't have time to apologize before she softly asked, "Why not?" He felt as though her glowing eyes were literally staring right through him.

He kept his eyes looking directly at hers, almost as softly replying, "Because it was... painful...very painful."

She changed her slightly playful attitude into a serious one, putting her hand on his knee, and held it there. Her voice sounded if she slightly sobered up, but her brazen new attitude did not quell. Although a bit surprised by her action, he didn't comment or move from his place, "Aj, I've lost my mom... I lost my closest friend, even though he's back now, that doesn't change the pain. Shala was always there for me. You don't have anyone, but you've always been nice to me. I want to be there for you. It really does feel better to talk about it. I'm sorry to prod... I'll leave you alone if you want though." She noticed her hand placement, and it quickly left his knee, and immediately began to wring on the orders of FTL speeds.

"No Tali, just...It's hard to explain...and I don't want to compare it to something and confuse you." Aj said weakly.

Although she really didn't buy the excuse, she decided to go along with it for now."Aj, please, just say what you want, and if I'm confused, I'll ask a question."

He gave up his attempts to hide, her eyes shining patiently waiting. _I trust her... it's just... damnit...I can't keep hiding it, she'll just keep asking anyway. _"It's just, on the ship I escaped from, I left someone important behind. It's been over a century for everyone else, but just almost two months ago for me."

"Who was it?" she prodded, trying to understand as best she could.

"Well, it was my fiance..." Tali looked up the word, and could not help feel slightly uncomfortable at his revelation. _Keelah, what is wrong with me? Why do I feel possesi-_ sShe gasped at her own self-revelation before she could continue. I... I'm caring for...a...a...human...her hands finally stopped.

Aj heard her gasp and quickly stammered, "Tali? Are you okay?"

She shook herself from her thoughts, furiously blushing and disappointed at herself. "Yes sorry, that just seems... very difficult to go through." She covered herself with a carefully placed, but not entirely accurate statement.

Aj continued, obviously extremely distraught. "She...had my...child Tali..."

Tali gasped again, but it wasn't for her own confessions to herself. Without thinking, she got up from her chair, sat by the bed, and embraced him, even though her skinny arms barely encompassed his large frame

She silently held him for a few moments, until she heard him sigh weakly. "I'm sorry Aj, I know this must be hard."

He shook his head as they broke the embrace. "It's just, horrible... She was injured, and her last real words to me were, 'you have a chance still Aj, don't waste it'." With that, a small stream of tears started to well up, but they hadn't started flowing yet.

"What happened to her?" Tali asked cautiously, and she quickly felt ashamed of herself.

Just thinking about her situation made the tears flow, crying at the image in his head. "She was burnt...very badly. Only her face was intact." Aj shuddered at the scene, never forgetting the atrocious image of his child's mother burned alive, only clinging to life to speak a few final words.

Tali slumped, only able to imagine the absolute pain he must have felt. "Oh keelah Aj, that's terrible. I'm sorry...nobody should have to see that."

He finally confessed what he believed was his crime. "I murdered her Tali..."

Tali was speechless for a few moments, just staring at him. "You.. wh...what?" She whispered still in shock.

"She told me to.. end her pain.. and pointed the gun at her head. I killed her Tali, goddamnit I killed her..." Aj whimpered and looked down at his lap. He pointed at the gun which ironically rested by his photo, "That was my father's old pistol, and it used to make me so proud to carry it around. It would always remind me of my father, I wanted to make him proud. Now whenever I see it, I just remember that I'm a killer..." He stared blankly at the wall, the occasional tear streaking down his face.

Tali narrowed her eyes, demanding, "Aj, look at me." When he didn't respond, she repeated louder, and more forcefully, "Aj look at me you bosh'tet!"

He slowly raised his glance, still unwanting to meet her eyes. For some reason, he always felt like she could look into whatever he said, catch any lie he tried to tell. This time, though, they were conveying something different, and infinitely more powerful, deep and genuine concern. After he finally locked eyes with her, she continued, "You didn't kill her Aj. She was going to die. She wanted you to be happy...I know how hard it is to lose someone, I wouldn't talk to anyone for months after my mother died..." She involuntarily shuddered and broke eye contact for a moment.

Aj recalled when his father died, and his mother abandoned them, and he did the exact same thing... He quietly asked, "What did you do to cope with it?"

Tali sighed, her eyes betraying her own turmoil. "I did what she would have wanted." His inquiring expression remained, so she remorsefully continued, "Everyday is a new opportunity to live, love, be loved. Living in the past, no matter how painful or pleasant it is, is only a memory. The best you can do is enjoy the present, and hope for a better future." She stopped herself, barely containing her tears, but eventually continued. "She told you that you had another chance. The worst way you could repay that is to give up while you still breathe. When you loe your ability to love, then you lose yourself." She ended the last part with her head down, and started to silently shake with sobs herself.

The first words she spoke hit him directly in the chest, but even he himself did not understand the feeling he had. He quickly put one arm around her shoulders, and the young woman began to compose herself. "How did you lose her?"

Tali sniffled, then explained, "The ship we were on, the air filtration units broke down. She always took off her mask in her room, and well... our immune systems are weak. She was asleep when it happened. If she was awake...she wouldn't...I'd have..."

He embraced the young quarian before she cried again. "It wasn't your fault... I'm just glad you're okay." As he gently stroked her back, he realized something...He himself, was falling for the alien girl..._She's not just an alien to me... She's special... Going through an entire synthetic army with Shepard...an absolute genious... I bet even smarter than me...and yet she found time just to spend with me... _He managed a smile through the dying trickle of tears.

"Thank you, Tali" He whispered gratefully, unknowingly squeezing her tighter.

"No Aj... thank you" she whispered back, equally grateful, and returning the tightening.

He had no idea what she was talking about, but didn't want to ruin the moment through an explanation. Little did he know, however what she was thanking him for. She was thanking him for actually caring about her...and now...for stealing her heart. Through years of neglect from her father, nobody had been there for her. Kal would try, but he was a busy soldier. Shala would also, but being an Admiral was a heavy committment, and like her father, she too was often unavailable. This...alien... had done what nobody on the fleet had even come close to, but she was too scared to tell him. Too scared he would be disgusted by her differences, her hidden and unknown face, herself. Little did she know, he was thanking her for the same thing.


	13. Rebuilding the Squad

The past couple of weeks on board the Normandy had been hectic to say the least. None of it, however, was what Shepard had predicted.

**Day 1:**

"I'm sorry Shepard, but they are calling some bull shit urgency matters." Anderson replied to an exasperated Shepard.

"Fantastic, well, send them a message, if they think I'm going to fly here at their convenience tell them to kiss my ass." He chided, but after seeing Anderson's slight frown, added, "Kindly of course."

Anderson shook his head disapprovingly, and leaned over the railing in his office. "Don't worry, and Chakwas forwarded her scans, hell with all that tech you should be happy they still think you're a human. You've probaly got the salarian Councillor on your side just with that, I don't think she holds grudges." The Admiral glanced at Shepard with a raised eyebrow. "I highly doubt the other two will be so quick to forget your little rant even after you saved their asses. They booked you for tomorrow afternoon, so if you could stay by a day it'd make things a lot easier."

Shepard fidgeted nervously at the revelation. _Damnit, that really got out? _"Seriously, how does everyone know that?"

Anderson chuckled, thinking back to the day, but it wasn't a truly happy laugh. One more of a good memory etched with sadness..."Emily Wong reported it to the Citadel News after you...well... died."

Shepard's mouth was nearly touching the floor in surprise, "Are you serious!?"

Anderson genuinely smiled -this time- and continued, "Don't worry, actually most people seemed to approve, about time someone yelled at them. They even received complaints about the primate remark"

The commander chuckled, thinking about how it would have seemed. "Wow... well..."

"I wouldn't go to Flux until they see you." He then offered out his hand, "Regardless, it's good to see you again, Shepard, just be careful with Cerberus."

After a firm shake, he decided to obey his Captain's orders, and headed to the Dark Star Lounge instead...

**Day 2:**

"Shepard?" He heard muffled from his nausea. The glanced up, immediately clutching his aching head, and saw the familiar ceiling of the Normandy's medical bay. "Shepard?" The voice repeated again; Miranda was overlooking the Commander with a less than pleased demeanor

"Not... so... loud... what?" He whispered with a pained frown.

"We have a dossier for a recruit we had on the Citadel." The commander nodded, and carefully retrieved the holopad from Miranda's hands. _Kasumi Goto?_ After a brief moment of reading, he got up and stretched his rather exhausted body. Miranda snidely remarked, "Do you even remember what you did last night?"

_Well... I went to the Dark Star Lounge...and I was thirsty...and...that's it. _He nervously answered, "No, not really, how'd I get back on the Normandy?"

Sighing, she exclaimed, "You ended up challenging a krogan to a drinking contest, beating him, and ended up at his table full of more krogans."

_Krogan!? Damnit. _Shepard snagged some pain killers from the nearby cabinet. Thankfully, Dr. Chakwas was not in the room, or he would not be having such a pleasant awakening. He cautiously questioned, "So... I got my ass kicked by a bunch of lizards?"

"Actually no, they were pretty sad to see you go, said something about Wrex's krantt." She shook her head as his smirk widened, but continued, "They said they were booking a passage to Tuchanka...anyways last night, we got a call around 1am local time from Dr. Chakwas; your medical scanner was screaming at her due to 'unsafe blood alcohol levels.' "

A familiar gray haired lady, as if on cue, entered the door, and was immediately frowning at him, "Yes, and if it wasn't for me, you might have drank some of their ryncol. You've been alive for only a day and the first thing you do is head to the bar and drink your liver away." She clutched her head in hyperbole exasperation, but looked up smiling, "Seems you haven't changed a bit."

Shepard chuckled at the doctor, which quickly sent a sharp pain throughout his cranium. Switching topics, he stated, "Well that's good news, doesn't make the hangover any more fun... so who's the new recruit?"

"She's actually already on the ship, down in by the Port Observation Deck." Miranda retorted, "But don't get any funny ideas while you're down there. Anderson managed to get the Council to meet with you later today, and your sobriety would really be useful."

"Yeah I know, blah blah, my head hurts too damn much to drink anyway." Miranda was satisfied, albeit disapproving of the exact terminology, and left the med bay without another interjection. "So, Dr., am I clear to go?"

She sighed loudly, "What if I thought your liver could use a quick scoping?" She devilishly smirked, glancing at an ominous looking scalpel.

"Uh, yeah. Joker's got dibs on that, I'll talk to you later doc!" He scurried out of the med bay, leaving a smirking Karin in his wake. After escaping the med bay, he headed towards everyone's favorite room, the bar.

As soon as the door opened, all he saw was an empty room. Shepard glanced over at the bar, noticing that there was already a glass of scotch poured on the rocks. He happily walked over to the premade beverage, but nearly shit his pants when a human figure popped up on the closest barstool. "BOO!"

Within a second, Shepard had unholstered his Carnifex, and was aiming his pistol; he growled angrily, "Who the hell are you?!"

The slim figure of a lady seemed unfazed, as she calmly bowed and stated, "Kasumi Goto, at your service!"

_Right.._. _the new recruit..._ Shepard holstered his pistol, and took a seat. Unfortunately, before he could clasp down on the drink, Kasumi snatched it away. She grinned mischievously, clarifying, "Miranda said to keep you away from the bar until after the Council!"

Shepard sighed; he got up and poured himself a glass of ginger ale to soothe his stomach. _Damnit Miranda, I could have used a good scotch right now._

The lady known as Kasumi seemed satisfied at his beverage, and happily informed, "Yep! So, I take it they haven't told you about the little trade for my services?" She motioned to the couch were he cautiously sat back down.

He scratched his head, then shrugged his shoulders. "Nope, what's up? Going to make me beat you at your own game? I'm sorry but I don't like stealth. I'd rather charge and ask questions later." He happily wisecracked, holding out his hand with a blue biotic aura.

She looked at his hand and shook her head. "I already heard how well you fit in with the krogans, knucklehead, but really."

_Damn this woman knows her gossip...fantastic. _He switched to a slightly more serious tone, answering. "Not a clue"

The theif squeaked in excitement, "Well, you and me are going to a party!"

"I'm flattered" He said winking at the petite Asian, "But my head still hurts, and I've got to see the Council like you said."

Kasumi blushed a little, but continued, "Geez Shep, five minutes and you're already pulling out the moves." She waved off his protest before he could even voice it, then finally sounded serious. "It's a party nearby in Bekenstein. I...well.. we need to retrieve Keiji's graybox."

_Wait... what? _"Who's Keiji? And a graybox? Those are extremely expensive, and hard to come by... hell, aren't they illegal?"

"Yes to all of those, and Keiji... he was close to me." She sadly looked down at her hands, pausing a moment before elaborating. "He told me whatever is in his graybox could implicate the Alliance on something big. A crimelord named Donovan Hock has it, I need your help to get it back."

He quickly noticed that this woman was a normally happy person, and the fact the person brought her to such a sad demeanor left little room for doubt. _She lost her lover...damn... I hope Ashley's okay..._ He quietly answered, "Alright, but I have to meet the Council first, sound good?"

Kasumi went from a depressed state back to her preliminary ecstatic giddiness in a heartbeat. "Yup! I'll be on the Citadel, tell me before you leave just in case!" She got up and glimmered out of existance.

_What the hell am I getting myself into..._

A few hours later, the meeting with the Citadel had just concluded, and Councillor Anderson and Shep were alone again.

"So, they gave me my Spectre status back, but aren't doing a damn thing to help?" The commander said with a rather large scowl. _Fuck them._

"Pretty much, I'll do what I can, but with Cerberus..." He trailed off looking away from his friend's stare.

Shepard sighed inwardly, understanding the man's dilemna. _I know Anderson... if he's anything like he used to be, he'll do every damn thing he can to help... _"Yeah, I understand, it's not what I expected either, but apparently they're the only one without their thumbs up their asses." He motioned towards the empty holographic interfaces with disgust.

Anderson nodded his agreement, but finally cracked a smile. "At least the turian councillor didn't mention your incident."

Shepard shrugged his shoulders, replying nonchalantly, "I couldn't care less what that bastard thinks, honestly. I have a job to do, and he's not going to do a damn thing to stop me."

Sighing, Anderson wearily retorted, "You don't know how many times I've thought the same, but we need to work together. You should know that better than all of us."

Shepard streaked his palm down his face in frustration, but kept his composure among his friend. He extended out his arm to his aged friend. "Yeah, well, I'll keep in touch old man, and I'll tell Dr. Chakwas your getting soft on us"

The human councillor quickly accepted the extended hand. "This old man can still whip your ass. Stay safe out there Shepard." Anderson said after laughed at the snarky Commander, who saluted him and headed out of the room

Day 3:

"So that was fun" Shepard happily chimed

"Yeah... you got along too well with Hock though." Kasumi teased while grasping her new beloved possession.

He guffawed at the remark, casually admitting, "Hey, even the ruthless sociopathic ones have good tastes in fine spirits."

"I'm glad you had fun!" She said happily. The theif stared down at the graybox, and quickly her expressioned saddened, and a tear started to trickle down her face..."Thanks for this Shep... It's just...so hard...to say goodbye. For good..."

Shepard quickly got up, softly placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The theif looked up, her face darkened by more tears, as he continued, "I know it's going to be hard, but...it's well..."

She refaced the graybox, rubbing her thumbs over it. Her tears had not abatted, but she reluctantly began to open the device, preparing to delete every single shred of evidence implicating the Alliance, along with the last memories of her dearly beloved before his murder.

_I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be to lose someone you love...If I would have lost Ashley..._He started pondering about the situation, and jumped up. He snatched the graybox out of her hands, surprising the theif. However, offered it back, confusing the theif. "Kasumi?"

"Yeah?" She was still unsure at why he just stopped the deletion, but her tears had finally stopped flowing.

"The Normandy is one of the stealthiest ships in the galaxy." He answered coyly. _I hope this doesn't come to bite me in the ass, I just can't force her to do that..._

"I know?" she frowned, unsure at where this was going

"And you're one of the sneakiest ladies out there? Am I right?" He said, maintaining his coyness but allowing a smirk to escape.

Kasumi was starting to see where this was going, but didn't believe it. "Well... I sure hope so... where is this going?"

"If you really want to keep it Kasumi, I won't stop you. Just keep it safe. Sound go-"

Without warning, he was pounced on and embraced by the petite Japanese lady who was completely thrilled. "Thank you so much Shep!" She quickly let go, holding the graybox now with a full smile. She allowed one last tear to escape, but her mind overrode the painful memories with the new gift. "I know he'll never come back... but I...I miss him."

The commander saw how she looked at the graybox, and enjoyed a pleasant grin himself. He quietly informed, "I'll be in the cockpit if you need me." He gave Kasumi her privacy, and she immediately turned on her graybox, entering her lost lovers archived memories.

**Day 4:**

"Okay, so Aria said Dr. Solus is down in the slums, and this Archangel guy's holed up by the mercs. I'm leaning towards the Archangel guy, seems he'll die soon if we don't save his ass, sound good?" Shepard addressed his squad outside the Afterlife.

Jacob and Zaeed nodded their heads in agreement. _Never been a fan of mercs, but so far I like this guy, no bull shitting around. Tell him were to shoot and he's already scoped up the target. Jacob knows his guns, and knows how to shoot. Again, short and simple, points on my book, even if he's a Cerberus lackey._ Miranda seemed as though she was about to argue, but merely shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan Shep, but it might be a little risky with just the five of us." Kasumi retorted neutrally.

Miranda added, "I don't necessarily think he'll be more useful than the salarian, but you're right. We don't need to revive another dead vigilante." She snickered along with Jacob.

Ever since he punched her, surprisingly, she had started to soften up her unpleasant icey demeanor. _Probaly because ole freaky eyes threatened her or some shit, he thought._ _Well, whatever works, right? At least she's fine to look at, hell, I've caught myself staring at her ass countless times already... _He quickly diverted from that... pleasant...mental tangent and back to the situation at hand. "Well, it'll only be four of us; I need you to do your thing, we don't know what they'll have against us, especially when they find out we're on his side."

After she nodded with a smirk and cloaked herself, and soon, the four and the 'ghost' went to the batarian by the aircar, flying away to save the last person Shepard thought they'd run into.

**Day 5:**

They'd just arrived on the Normandy after whisking away 'Archangel' to the medical bay for a rocket to the face and likely some sort of wound to his knee. Thankfully, it was not one of the dreaded arrows.

"Damn Shepard, I haven't done a 10 hour mission in years." Zaeed exclaimed at the debreifing room. He stretched his back, grumbling something inaudible afterwards.

"Well, imagine how much more fun it would have been if Kasumi hadn't found that YMIR?" Shepard stated, equally tired out. Hell, the only reason he hadn't collapsed is because it was his best friend in the medical bay.

"Yeah, yeah, well, that was fun. Got to kill Tarak at least, the gud'damn blink. I'm goin' down to da bar. Don't forget about Vido after that doctor" He nodded at the rest of the crew before walking off. _Another reason I like this guy, he hates the goddamn batarians also. _Ever since Mindoir, he felt himself being extremely racist against the species, considering the Hegemony only let the scumbags leave their planets nowadays.

"HEY DON'T YOU STINK UP MY BED YOU SMELLY OLD-" That was all they heard as Kasumi squeaked off after him.

Shepard glanced at the two Cerberus operatives, who had not only surprised him with their skill, but had seamlessly obeyed his orders. "Jacob, Miranda, anything to add?"

"No sir, I need to rest, but after I'm done, I'll clean up the guns for tomorrow." The dark-skinned male responded. After Shepard nodded, he saluted, and then walked to the sleeper pods. _Yep, definitely an Alliance boy._

Noticing the rather sexy female hadn't left the room, he crossed his arms with a grin. "Why am I not surprised Miranda?" He stated with a smirk.

She just rolled her eyes in response, faking what seemed an exasperated sigh. "I just wanted to inform you we're using some of the spare cybernetics in the med bay. We had requisitioned them for any injury you might have gotten on the mission. He should be fully functional within the week." She let that bit of information sink in, and the commander gratefully smiled. However, the woman sarcastically added, "Seems you and your friend, Garrus was it?, will have a lot more in common besides your suicidal antics and terrible sense of humor." The woman smiled ruefully at the commanders expression.

_Did she just wink at me? _He shook his thoughts, retorting back to sarcasm to divert his straying mind. "He complimented you ! That's special, especially coming from a turian!" _Can't say I disagree._

"He asked why you were with Cerberus, looked at me, and said nevermind!" Her frown betrayed her true opinion frustrated, and she started to laugh. _My god, I can't believe what I'm seeing...she's genuinely laughing..._

He chuckled along with her, adding, "Better get used to it, you've got me, Joker, and now his snide jabs. Besides, you're the one who picks to wear a catsuit everywhere." _Shit, that...sounded awkward..._

The operative raised an eyebrow, and seemed ready to strike back, but never got the chance. Just then, his dextro brother from another planet popped in the room.

"Oh, am I interrupting your little, 'meeting' " He dryly remarked, sporting a fresh new implant on his right mandible.

"Mercy, I'm just getting used to Shepard, now we recruit his partner in crime." Miranda said while face palming.

Shepard couldn't help but add, "Don't worry Garrus, Miranda was just asking about turian mating rituals, don't fret." He quickly ended up giggling like a school girl, while Miranda seemed less than enthusiastic.

Garrus howled in laughter, but immediately clutched his face in pain; "Damnit Shepard, this crap is barely keeping together. Besides, humans are too soft for my tastes."

Miranda scowled at them both and left the room mumbling something about idiots.

"I still can't believe it's you Garrus, what the hell've you been up to?" Shepard said enthusiastically. Throughout the first nine hours, they hardly had time to speak, and the last hour was a frantic dash to keep the turian alive, sprinting through the collapsing base. Kasumi wasn't too bad with setting up explosives.

Garrus returned an equally ostentatious look of approval."Can't believe me? Shit John, you've been dead !"

He shuddered inwardly, as every reminder of his rather long slumber reminded him of what had changed. _Been way too damn long, but it's good to see the old friends again, though. _He chuckled and remarked, "Well, I've been awake for what, five days now? I'm up to one friendly visor and an ugly ass turian; so far so good."

Garrus' mandibles clicked in surprise, but quickly contorted into a grin. "Oh? Made a trip to the fleet to see little miss Tali? I thought you had a thing for Ash; figures, we dextros are the best looking after all."

He waved off the turian's jabs, retorting with one of his own. "Yeah right, I've seen turian women, I think I'd hook up with a hanar first. Less... sharp pointy appendages. Besides, I met her on my first mission, and actually she's the one with a human on her squad now."

Garrus chuckled and replied "Well, that's strange, but she was always a feisty one, wouldn't surprise me if she learned a thing or two from you." He shrugged, then added in a fake hanar voice. "Anyways, 'this one' heard you're going to get a salarian doctor tomorrow?"

_He gets half his face blown off and already is eager to jump back into the fights? _Although appreciative, he responded, "Yeah, but don't get any funny ideas. Your mandible might fall off or something, and the plague affects all non-humans."

Garrus stood for a moment, and felt up his cheek with his right talon. After wincing in pain, he decided Shepard wasn't kidding around. Reluctantly, he condeded, "Fine, fine. I'll go check out the new guns befo-"

"GARRUS VAKARIAN ! GET YOUR ASS BACK OVER HERE THIS INSTANT !" yelled an infuriated Dr. Chakwas. The scowling doctor stood at the door on the debriefing room, a rather large syringe in hand.

Shepard laughed loudly at the rather determined looking doctor as Garrus glanced at the ground sadly, "Party's over... well, you know were to find me." He extended out a taloned hand.

After calming himself, and a firm handshake later, he gazed over at the unamused medical doctor, and a sulking turian headed to the medbay. After the crazy mission they went through, he decided to head to his cabin for a nights rest. _Well, he seems no worse for wear, just what the hell was he doing on Omega though?_

Day 6:

"Biological hazards dropping, ventilation systems online, good work." Dr. Solus remarked as the four-some of humans appeared at his door. The salarian could speak extremely rapidly, but seemed to be as relaxed as he could be thanks to the recent development. The previous warning of possible asphyxiation quickly got the team moving, but now the air was secured.

Daniel nervously added, "And...thanks for saving me Commander, I thought you'd shoot the batarians for sure..."

Shepard grinned at the assistant, humbly replying, "Don't worry about it, they were just scared, the real problem was-"

"Gud'dam vorcha everywhere, the fucking buggards." Zaeed added pretty pissed off; Shepard nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Vorcha unaffected. Assisted with plague? No, not smart enough. Working for another, yes." He stood pondering for a moment. "Nature of your mission?"

"We're stopping the Collectors. We need a scientist for our samples, and you've got one hell of a track record." Shepard answered, taking a step forward from the squad.

The savant nodded, deep in thought, but lasting mere moments. "Collectors? Advanced species, might be cause of plague. Advanced bioengineering, and Cerberus recruiting aliens? Strange indeed. Will report to ship soon Commander, Normandy, must leave clinic intact for assistant."

He shook the commanders hand, and went off to bring his important possesions. The team left, but had mysteriously shortened down to three. A batarian patient was yelling around for his lost credit chit.

**Day 7:**

Gathered mineral resources from various planets in the Minos Wasteland. Sparring session: [Victories] Shepard - 31, Zaeed - 17, Miranda - 14, Jacob - 12; Kasumi happily watched, seemingly especially attentive when Jacob fought, as Garrus reluctantly watched, always cheering the underdogs...Shepard's opponents.

**Day 8:**

Saved the Franklin colony from Batarian terrorists. Uneventful except that Rupert's Chef Surprise caused several crew members to catch a case of explosive diarrhea. Complaints lodged.

**Day 9:**

Stopped the MSV Broken Arrow from crashing via a geth infiltration. Used combined funds and resources to purchase Silaris armor tech upgrade for the ship per Jacob's contacts.

**Day 10:**

Reactivated the shields on the Sinmara colony. Miranda and Shepard visited the colony directly, and received a free mineral scanner upgrade per her grateful acquaintance. The commander was rather shamefully suspected in checking out her ass.

**Day 11:**

"YOU WASTED 20 FUCKING YEARS OF MY LIFE SHEPARD !" Zaeed bellowed while aiming his rifle at the Commander. Garrus, Jacob, and Miranda immediately took our their weapons and aimed it at the enraged mercenary.

"You risked over 100 lives for your damn revenge Zaeed" he calmly replied. Far off in the distance, Vido Santiago flew to safety, the Normandy being uselessly at the opposite end of the planet core venting.

Zaeed's scowl only deepened as he roared, "I don't give a damn about them! Thanks to you that son of a bitch got away!"

Before Shepard could reply, the fuel leaking around the plant caused a nearby explosion, sending a metal beam falling towards the duo. Shepard managed to jump out of the way, just barely, while Zaeed only partially succeeded. His right leg was caught under a massive weight.

He tugged at his leg, then faced the squad. "Gud damnit, help me up."

Shepard calmly stated, "I don't know if I want you on my team Zaeed." He did not budge.

He shouted back, "Ta hell you don't, the Illusive Man paid me for a fucking reason."

His stoic facade did not fade as he proclaimed, "This is a team, and you nearly risked all of our lives for your selfish revenge."

"Get this pillar off me!" The enraged Massani angrily yelled.

The commander stood deathly still. "You listen to me Massani. We don't risk innocent civilians. Ever."

"Shepard, this damn pillar-"

He interrupted the seasoned veteran emotionlessly. "Will crush you, and you'll probaly die if I leave you here, so listen to me. I expected better from you, not this reckless abandonment. We are a team, you stick together, you live together. This kind of reckless abandonment is what gets rookies kills, you should know this."

Zaeed defiantly growled, "VIDO SHOT HALF MY FACE OFF!"

Shepard's final straw was offered."And we would have killed him had you not jeapordized the civilians here."

For a moment, Zaaed just looked at the factory, and shook his head almost in shame. Then he barely audibly replied, "Fine... damnit. Help me up."

Although he was by no means a psycologist, the commander could tell his words hit home. _Makes sense though... he's worked alone most of his career I bet._ With the help of Jacob and Miranda's biotics, along wwith Garrus and Shepard's combined kinetic muscle strength, they managed to lift the metal beam, releasing the mercenary from a slow demise.

While walking to the shuttle, Shepard looked at Miranda and ordered, "Miranda, once we get back to the ship, ask the Illusive Man to send out feelers for this Vido guy. He'll be running, but I doubt he can hide." Shepard glanced over at the mercenary and nodded.

Zaeed seemed to calm down even more at this, and retorted, "Yeah, no explosions this time, I get it. Next time, though, I'm going to gut the fucker alive." He was limping slightly most of the ride back, but Dr. Chakwas later determined it wasn't too serious.

Day 12:

Shut down the indoctrination device on Aequitas. Garrus happily sparred for the first time in two years with the commander. Locked at a 41 tie before the doctor stopped the fights. Bar noted to require resupplying.

Day 13:

Shut down the Geth weather device on Canalus. Shepard and the two Cerberus operatives discussed their objectives, specifically ones he did not know. Thankfully, it was limited to monitoring and protecting, albeit he never knew his XO had been protecting his identity every visit to civilized space to prevent reporters and mobs. He was a wizard at extracting as much truthful information as possible out of nearly anyone. _Maybe I've been wrong about her? I'm glad Jacob's been straight with me the whole time at least._

Day 14:

R&R at the Citadel. Purchased Serrice Ice Brandy for Dr. Chakwas, and enjoyed an evening with his 'mom' of sorts. While on drydock, upgraded the main weapon to a Thanix cannon per Garrus's recommendation. To say the turian was excited to calibrate the new monster of a weapon was a severe understatement.

Day 15:

"Commander?" Kelly Chambers stated, "Just got a message from the Illusive Man, he sent forward two more dossiers, one on a Krogan Warlord, and another for a biotic named Jack." She didn't even need to look to know he was at the terminal. "Whenever you're ready, he's asking for a meeting, priority Alpha."

_Oh shit, he informed me day one that meant shit hit the fan. _He quickly ran to the debriefing room.

"Commander Shepard." The strange-eyed man matter-of-factly stated. "The next two recruits took longer than I anticipated to acquire, but their talents will be well worth the wait. That's not why I needed to see you at such an important notice, however."

The commander nodded in understanding, more concerned with the information currently withheld. "What's going wrong?"

"Thankfully, it does not pertain directly to your mission." The commander looked at him quizzically, wondering why he would interrupt for a non-trivial pursuit, but was cut off by his continuation. "Recently, I received a report stating that your old teammate Tali'Zorah and the 'Aj' character traveled to the Dohlen system with a squad of 20 quarian marines."

"Geth space? That's a bit risky, but why do you think she's in trouble?" _I don't like where this is going..._

The man showed no emotion, only presenting clear facts. "Three other ships entered the system shortly thereafter, no known IFF signatures."

_Wait, what? Either it's a new species... or... a hyper advanced... _"So they're being trailed by-"

The Illusive Man breached his normal courteous demeanor, interrupting. "Three geth battle cruisers, currently within intercepting range."


	14. Meet the Machines pt 1

It was only an hour before dustoff, and soon, the mission to Haestrom would begin, but other some things take priority even over high-risk infiltration missions. Aj was slowly, and rather nervously, making his way back to his room after a quick debriefing with Kal; apparently the squad would be adding a couple more scientists to learn about the star for some reason. He, however, was focused on the message he had gotten earlier from Admiral Rael, who asked to meet in his quarters for a personal debriefing. He noticed the word mission was precariously missing from the orders. _Smart one there Aj, getting the Admiral's daughter plastered. _He sighed, relectantly turning the corner towards his room.

Standing by the door, he was greeted by the familiar sight of the said male quarian patiently waiting for him. "There you are, I have a few questions regarding your actions recently." Rael stated in a business tone, motioning towards the door. Aj's mind was flooded with nightmare scenarios. _Shit man, this guys going to space me_. The Admiral stood absolutely silent as his room was sterilized. After the decontamination cycle had finished and they were seated did he finally continue, jumping directly into his perusal, "Many of your squad members reported my daughter was an hour late to her meeting, and this comes after they saw her in your arms carrying back to her room past her normal sleep cycle."

_Damn, I barely remember that. But there's no way he'll want to know I encouraged his daughter to get pretty toasted..._After a brief throat clearing and hesitation, he decided to spill out the truth and hope he could survive another century endeavor into space, "Yeah well, I asked her to share her stories with the human spectre, Shepard. Yu'know, there's only so much you learn on the extranet, and she was there first hand." _Never going to get on the bad side of that shotgun._

The Admiral nodded, absorbing the new information. "Well, that explains why she was there for two hours, and yes, I looked at the data recordings after I was notified. But I don't think that explains why she wasn't able to walk, as the first few seconds after she exited show." He directly informed him, proverbially holding his balls on the line.

_Yeah, great, I'm fucked. What was I supposed to do, let her stumble and pass out on the deck? _"Yeah, uh, she had quite a few of these turian ales called Jiklatx, hell and even one of mine." The Admiral gasped, scowling at him. He shrugged his shoulders and gave up hiding, "I don't she would have been able to get to her room."

Aj was terrified inside, but Rael's nonchalant response seemed completely bypass the main point, "I see, we don't often have the luxury of alcoholic beverages on the fleet, although her timing could definitely improve on the endeavor." He shook his head in disapproval, and stared back at the human. His voice now had the unmistakeable hint of anger. "But you say she had a levo-protein based beer, I am assuming by your doing?"

"No no no! I didn't make her drink it!" Aj quickly replied, nervously shaking his head no. When the admiral didn't respond for a moment, he did his best to cover for himself. "Well, we made a bet to see who was a better shot, you see, and it was a draw." He decided the man was unhappy enough did not need the needless details. "Anyway, she gave me some sort of tablet and she said she was taking one too, so it wouldn't kill me, or her!" _It worked surprisingly...wait, why's he so pi- is Tali alright!?_

The Admiral interrupted his thoughts. "What kind of tablet do you speak of?" He knew there were some things to take which could allow a small amount of levo proteins safely into a dextro-based organic or vise versa, but was not familiar with any of the specifics.

Aj's mind flared to life, but he could only remember the image of the pill, and had no technical information. "I...I really have no idea, but I didn't get sick, and... she's okay right, don't tell me...?" He was extremely worried where this conversation was headed, and it was not for his sake.

Rael was rather surprised by the sudden worry. Much to the human's satisfaction, Admiral Zorah clarified, "Do not worry, she is perfectly fine." Visibly, Aj relaxed in his seat, and the quarian leader looked at him quizzically. He continued, "I believe I know what medication you're speaking of, but isn't it odd that you'd take an unknown substance into your body, then drink a beverage what should be capable of killing you?" _Are humans really that simple?_

Aj just softly laughed and shook his head, further confusing the Admiral. Without missing a beat sincerely proclaimed, "No sir, I'd trust your daughter with the air I breathe. She's been very supportive since the first day I woke up." Unfortunately he did not notice the admiral's relaxing demeanor immediately tense up and eyes narrow into a scowl, but he saved his own reproductive appendages unknowingly by continuing, "Actually, everything she's done for me since the day I came on board has helped me immensley." He scratched the back of his neck, and easily surmised, "I don't think she would intentionally poison me." He chuckled and added "I hope."

"I see..." Little did he know the Admiral was livid, but was adept at hiding his body language. _Did that human just say he was courtin- wait...human. I doubt he knows what he just said. _Rael composed his speech, and asked, "You did say, with the air you breathe, am I correct?"

_Wait, what? Why does he care about that? _"Uh, yeah, it's an old human saying, means with anything... including things what could potentially harm us, why?" _Surely a quarian could understand that simple one, right?_

_The bosh'tet needs to learn more about the fleet. _"I recommend limiting the use of that expression on board the flotilla, Aj." He sternly responded.

Aj had no clue where this was going, or why he seemed rather pissed off at the statement, but decided arguing with this man would just break the thin ice he just survived, even thinner than he himself knew. "Yes sir, uh, I apologize, I think."

Satisfied the human was not trying to seduce his daughter, Rael went back to business. He stood up and clasped his hands together behind his back, adding "Be ready for Haestrom soon, I don't know if Kal or Tali described the geth, but with your... unique abilities... I would be cautious with this situation. We do not know how they will react or combat your systems."

Happy he was still alive, and the Admiral didn't seem ready to change that, Aj gladly answered, "Yes sir! Your daughter showed me how to use some combat programs I think will work very well against them, Overload and Incinerate."

Mr. Zorah nodded in agreement. A hint of pride crept into his voice as he replied. "Those should be useful, she is very experienced in dealing with any combat situation, trust her judgment. Good luck, and keep my daughter safe." He left the room without a rebuttal.

_Still alive! Hell yeah...I already trust her, didn't need to remind me. _The human practically skipped to the meeting reveling in his unspaced form.

The shuttle ride from the flotilla, which still remained in the Raheel-Leyya system, to the Dohlen system would take a few hours. They were in a heavily shielded but exceptionally quick cruiser, designed to withstand a direct shot even from a geth dreadnaught and skirt away before shit hit the fan. The speed came at a large cost, however, as the craft had very light weaponry. After killing some hours in a sleeper pod 'recovering' from the last extra-short sleep cycle, Aj decided to find Kal. He still was curious why Rael had acted so strangely about a simple saying. Sadly, the man was busy chatting with a few marines about a hypothetical elcor vs. krogan battle. He did however, run into the spunky girl he was interrogated about who was sitting at a chair 'playing' with her shotgun. She was a little farther away from the rest of the 26 man squad (Kal, Tali, him, 20 marines, and 3 scientists).

Aj snuck up behind her, putting one shoulder while extra loudly stating, "Hey Tali, what do you have there?"

She jumped at the sudden interjection, finding the source of the intrusion. Her wide eyes quickly turned into a smile, but he earned a swat on the shoulder as he sat down. "Hey primate, I'm just tinkering around with my Eviscerator, putting in disruptor ammo. Geth rely on shields mostly, and these tear right through those."

"Want to do that to my Revenant? Would make a nice payment for that free taxi ride little miss Jiklatx." he asked, smiling wryly._ Kind of bad ass how ammo can just be changed to random upgrades... I wonder if they have poisoned types..._

Tali giggled at her sitting position. "Don't remind me, keelah, my head is still sore." She then patted the area near her. "You lazy bosh'tet. It's not like it's hard to do, come here, I''ll just show you."

She was absolutely correct, for in less than a minute, they were complete. Aj could happily tear through shields in an instant, which he seemed extremely pleased at. _Mayb_e _Tali has some answers? _While they were putting their weapons, he snidely remarked "So, your dad wasn't very happy at me..."

Immediately Tali went from smiling at her work, and basically most of his, to a bumbling mess complete with squirming fingers. "Oh keelah, why? What did he do? Is he mad at me? At you? Whe-"

Aj grabbed her hands for a moment, and felt hers squeeze down on his for a moment, before he rapidly took them back. Hers had remained stopped after his interruption. "Relax, jeez! He just wasn't too keen on his princess daughter binge drinking before a mission." He said rather loudly. Consequentially, he heard a feminine gasp along with a few males quietly laughing.

Tali gasped aloud, bringing one three-fingered hand in front of her visor. "You bosh'tet! Why did you tell him?!" She squeaked out, then whispered nervously. "We..., well, I do not drink often."

"Me? I didn't tell him." Aj answered with a smirk. "I'm pretty stoked I'm still alive. I thought your dad was about to space my sorry ass!" He again stated too loudly, causing the few quarians in the vacinity to howl with laughter...well, except one.

She slapped his chest and put her hands on her hips. Aj just glanced down at the said hands, and began to snicker. "Keelah, now what?" Tali'Zorah was not amused.

Aj shrugged his shoulders, shamelessly replying, "I just never knew quarians had such impressive hips." _I bet quarian babies are massive. Or their leg muscles are phenomenally strong..._ His mind quicky flew through thousands of evolutionary necessities what would produce said hips.

Tali blushed furiously, having never got compliments on her looks, even as a whole species._ Does... does he really think I'm attractive? But... I'm stuck... stuck in this prison...my suit..._She almost sighed thinking about her inner turmoil, balancing a friendship with... something different, she was not quite sure. _He is a different species, quarians do not bond with other races, right?_ She looked up at the human, who was looking up as if deep in thought, and composed herself. _It feels so strange though, like...we protect each other...he is just a friend._ The quarian shook her thoughts, and playfully retorted, "You're just trying to get me demoted, aren't you?" There wasn't a hint of contempt in the statement.

Aj jumped back into the situation at hand. _Perfect memory is a real solipism isn't it..._ He carefully looked into her visor, and noticed certain areas were darker than normal. _Hmm? _"You know that visor can't hide your blushing!"

Indeed she had felt her cheeks warm after his first obnoxiously loud statement, and and now it fully turned her lavender skin into a dark blue facade, albeit nobody would see it._ How did that bosh'tet know! _She nervously fidgeted, and made her escape. "I don't know what you're talking about, I'm going to ask the scientists about... the stars decay. I'll talk to you later!" Tali practically sprinted away from him, getting a quick laugh out of the human.

_Was she embarrased?_ I don't think I know how to fully read quarians. Still, he felt very different around her compared to the other quarian women he'd met. _Hell, she's like the closest female friend I've had._ For a brief moment, he recollected that he and Harumi had first met in a study group, and only slowly did their friendship blossom into a relationship. Quickly though, Aj stopped the thought; he had noticed Kal was done with his undoubtedly fascinating battle scene, and made his way towards the skilled marine.

He waved his hand and called out. "Reegar! Got a minute?"

This quarian was not as skittish as Tali, and greeted him cordially as he approached, "Sure Aj, but say, which do you think would win, a kro-"

"I say the elcor." He interrupted, having thoroughly mentally perused the battle scene earlier. "You can't tell its ass from its face."

After a quiet laugh and head shake, Kal replied jokingly, "Sometimes, I wonder how Tali puts up with you."

"Oh that's easy, with a lot of slaps and profanities." Aj answered chuckling. "Actually, speaking of her, I have a question"

Kal quieted to listen, but mentally he was still processing the slip of information. _We quarians only touch another often if they are bonded...or on the path...Tali? _He smiled afterward, thinking of the true ridiculousness of his thinking. _No quarian has ever bonded with another species! _ He threw in a joke to make up for his late reply. "Sure, but I already told you, we do not have fur like that thing I showed you."

_That'd was one weird three fingered, saber toothed kangaroo, hah! _After looking around and noticing he was out of earshot from the rest of the shuttle, he quietly stated. "I got ambushed by Admiral Zorah, and well, he was acting strange. I think he thought I tried to poison his daughter."

_He wouldn't do that? Not to Tali? There is no way, those two..._Kal momentarily mentally lapsed again..._are always together..._The marine composed himself quickly, responding. "Well, the entire crew's heard of you carrying his daughter in your arms to her room, what'd you expect, but... poisoned?"

Aj chuckled nervously at the marine's knowledge, which only made the quarian smile. "Actually, I'm surprised I didn't get another space voyage." He cringed slightly at the thought, but continued, "I told him an old human saying I told him about Tali, and well, he wasn't too happy."

Kal easily imagined the infamously authoritative Admiral yelling at the human, barely stiffling a chuckle. He decided to...test his theory. "So, pissing off the admirals, smooth move there; especially Tali's father." He noticed that Aj fidgeted uncomfortably, and was content with his own musings. "Out with it human, I've got to hear this. And still I don't understand how he thought she was poisoned."

Aj cautiously checked the shuttle for any eavesdropping quarians, and after finding none, he continued. "He asked me why I was stupid and tried a dextro beer, and she had a levo beer..." The marine's eyes instantly widened, and Aj stopped an interjection via holding up his hands. "With one of those tablets, we're not crazy." After seeing a quick nod, he continued, "I told her father what happened, and he seemed more interested in some stupid human saying more than the actual tablet. It's just strange... I told him I'd trust her with the air I breathe, then he-"

Instantaneously Kal started laughing loud enough to get most of the crew's attention. When the veteran noticed the stares, he waved them off, and he turned back to Aj with a rather humored grin. "Damn, you say you're a human computer and you can't figure this one out?" _Oh keelah, he does not know how lucky he is to be alive now. Anyone trying to court Tali...well...the poor bastard wouldn't survive._

Utterly confused, Aj shook his head, "I looked up the tablet stuff after he asked about it, I me..." He stopped his confused ramblings when he saw a grinning look on the quarian's eyes. Aj crossed his arms in false bravado, smirking. "Going to educate a poor innocent human, or are you going to be a bosh'tet too?" _Hell, that's the first time I've ever said that... pretty fun to say actually!_ The quarian seemed amused at his diction as well.

Kal educated him slowly, as if he was a toddler, or the marine was holding back a chuckle. "You know the only air we breathe is inside..." He said the last word slowly and directly. "Our suits. The only reason we're out of them - well, with other people - is for medical purposes or, well... linking suits is the final stage to our 'bonding'. So you told her father, you wouldn't mind physically bo-"

Fortunately, the Terminus armor covered his facial appearance; by his first inside insinuation, he had a small idea of his mistake, now it was painfully obvious. He darkly reddened, then attempted to articulate a reply. "Oh...well...I..." _Damn...that could have ended much worse than earlier.._.

"Actually..." Kal interrupted, "I'm surprised your limbs are still attached after that. You're lucky you're a human or I doubt he'd be as friendly." The quarian grinned thoroughly at the image of the elder Zorah furiously assaulting the poor primate. _Keelah to hell with it, I do not think it's possible, but..._ Kal then added quietly. "Tali, she's always been by herself. I do not think she has many people to talk to." _She wouldn't speak for a month after her ship, and captain, had went down..._

Aj nodded in understanding. _Every time I send her a message, she's usually free. Her usual request to work on the engines together isn't really work anyway..._ He casually threw out. "Tali's an amazing woman, that's for sure. Maybe she can relate to... both of our losses..." Aj shook his head frowning, but smiled when he continued. "She always knows how to cheer me up...or threaten me enough to where I forget about the problem." The two shared a quick laugh, both extremely familiar with the rather authoritative quarian female's threats. _Shotguns look pretty damn fun, honestly. _Aj shrugged his shoulders, deciding inwardly to see what the quarian marine thought. "I don't really know what it is, but just having her nearby, I don't know, just...helps. I feel like I'm incomplete when I'm alone sometimes."

_Oh keelah..._Kal froze in place, fully trying to come to terms with what he just heard. The normally fearless quarian hesitantly asked, "Are you courting the Admiral's daughter, Aj?" _Bonding can only happen if both feel the same way... so Tali? Admiral Zorah is going to kill him... then me._

Aj had not been expecting that question. _She's an amazing woman...but...an alien? _"Tali...she's, well, special to me." He nervously fidgeted, thinking about what he himself just said. _How can a...murderer... like me even think like that...she's quarian, and I'm human..._Aj sighed, which Kal easily heard, and admitted, "I doubt that she feels that way about me Kal, we're different species remember. It's... not possible."_ Is it?_

Kal stood up to posture, piquing the very discombobulated human's interest. "I do not know, Aj. But if you told me half of the things you had done a month ago, I'd call you a crazy det kazuat." The quarian again noticed one very important detail. "You never said no."

_Shit.. I didn't... I don't know, do I? I'll always have a piece of my heart for Harumi, but..? An alien? Hell we don't even have the same amount of fingers... _Aj looked at the ground, and solemly said, ""Tali's made me feel ways I've never felt before, even from my...well... I'd take a bullet for her if I had to, but I don't know if I could... The last time I... cared about someone, she...was taken from me..." The normally enthusiastic human sadly trailed off, unwanting to elaborate. He hung his head, in both shame and confusion. _She would never care for me._

Quarians were adept at reading audio or visual cues, and Kal caught the hesitation. What he heard was a remorseful human unsure how to cope with the... odd development. Kal thought for a moment, wondering if Aj could truly make his...'sister'... happy...complete her. _Ancestors guide me, please, not for my sake, not for Aj's, but for Tali's. _Aj felt a strong three-handed hand grip his shoulder. " I don't think I can help you on that Aj. I've never heard of a quarian bonding with another species, but I've also never heard of one joining the fleet either, and yet here you are Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema. I don't know much about your past, but you sound like you're wrestling with your it more than anything in the present. Just be happy, and keep your air to yourself for a while." He added the last part with a light laugh.

For the rest of the shuttle ride, Aj sat by himself in the corner thinking about his past. _'Another chance'... but with what? Did it include love? Can I love her? Do I already? She's an amazing alien...woman...but I've never even seen her fa-... Does that even matter? Does she matter to me... Yes... she means a lot to me... Do I...do I...love her? I...-. _He cut himself off on his last tangent, staring at his hands in astonishment. He fully realized he wasn't just falling for an alien, but he'd already fallen for the young quarian woman named Tali'Zorah vas Neema.

A few hours after landing, the team on Haestrom had been divided into four units of five . _Team Alpha_ covered the nearest clearing for a shuttle, and also had a bulkhead door still functioning in case they were overrun. _Team Bravo_ and _Delta_ covered a large courtyard, which had an extremely defensive positions on both sides. Only one door could lead through to the observatory. Team Epsilon covered the smaller courtyard infront of the observatory, which had a ledge perfectly suited for sniping. Kal and Aj stood by the door of the lookout which contained Tali and the three scientists. Although they were expecting their ship's stealth capabilities to hold for the short mission, little did they know of the scene unfolding above the skies, skies which had seen unhelmeted quarians, skies which began to show the beginning of a new future.

Unknown signature detected. Organic and synthetic signatures. Organic signatures surrounding unit. No weapon signatures actively engaged. Conclusion: accepted into the Creator squad.

Does not match all known Old Machine signatures. Indoctrination signals not detected.

Alert: Two heretic cruisers inbound.

Moving cruiser to defensive positions.

Addendum: Must assist Creator and unknown presence.

After the quick call from the Illusive Man, the Normandy immediately diverted course towards the Dohlen system. Thankfully, they were at Omega investigating a lead on Vido, and it was a short jump away. However, what was occuring once they arrived shortly thereafter absolutely baffled the cockpit. Shepard, Joker, and EDI all were carefully monitoring the readouts.

"Why the hell are they attacking themselves?" Joker yelled only seconds after exiting the mass relay.

Thankfully, no analysis is complete without everyone's favorite living computer. "Scans indicate a slight difference in designs between the larger ship and the two smaller ones. It is 4.7% larger with 16% stronger shielding." EDI interjected.

The three stared at the battle in confusion as the seconds ticked by. "It looks like the larger one is losing though, why's that?" Shepard questioned, breaking the awkward silence.

The synthetic voice rapidly replied. "The larger one is taking defensive positions above the planet, while the other two are actively assaulting it." Shepard was in a position he rarely found himself in, completely and utterly unsure. _Maybe the damn robots will kill themselves before we have to?_

"Should we help one?" Joker asked, eager to test the new weapons. "I bet Garrus will start dancing if we let him shoot the Thanix.

"No, let's stand back for a while. This may be a trap." The commander ordered. _There's no way in hell this is as it seems. Why the fuck would a completely emotionless race attack themselves._ The Normandy loitered within quick access to the relay.

The battle continued, and to say it was exciting would superbly summarize the event. EDI had been broadcasting the battle to most of the ship, and the dead silence seemed to indicate everyone was watching. After a few minutes, a krogan roar of approval, along with a few higher-pitched yells coincided with one of the smaller ships exploding. Shepard grinned happily, knowing no matter what was really happening, two ships were always easier to destroy than one. "EDI report?"

EDI did not answer for a full second, to the surprise of the copilot and commander. "We're getting a hail... from the larger ship." Rarely does a synthetic hesitate, and the two nervously stared at the holopad as she continued. "The message stated, 'We are evacuating. Creators underprotected. Must pro... ' then the signal cut off." The large ship then started making way towards the relay... towards the Normandy.

Shepard's eyes widened as the larger of the two ships charged directly towards the Normandy. He quickly bellowed. "EDI defensive positions!"

Within minutes, the large geth ship, slightly crippled but fully capable of combat, came within targetting distance. However, nothing happened. "Weapons systems currently activated. The geth have yet to activate theirs." She replied.

_We don't have the time to deal with this ship. The second's starting to fly down to the planet... _"Don't fire on the geth unless they actively return fire." Shepard stated calmly, staring at the menacing ship approaching.

EDI did what it was told, however, it decided to do something without its captains orders. 'She' knew of the geth, but nothing from direct contact. However, everything she had ever analyzed reported immediate combat. This was a unique situation currently. EDI had recorded everything that had happened on the Normandy since it was activated, and only occasionally sent specific pieces to the Illusive Man. Never, however, had she transmitted 'personal' video logs to another without organic direction. She needed more data, to protect her crew, and herself. This time, EDI sent Shepard's most recent statement to the larger ship, without direct orders. One phrase was also added. _Fighting the Collectors._ She had concluded the geth may attempt to assault the Collectors themselves due to a perceived threat, or at least would know how to contact Shepard if need be. She...hoped... this would not be a terrible mistake. The larger ship received the small clip moments before exiting the system via the relay to an unknown location.

As the ship came close enough to block a large swath of galactic view, most of the crew was hard at work. EDI had thankfully cut the feeds after the explosion, and no crew member was aware a geth battle cruiser was within firing range of the Normandy. No organics were aware that the Normandy had actually contacted the geth, either. EDI recorded the data; the geth had not fired at the organics when it was perfectly logical to do so. She still had much to learn.

Shepard interrupted the synthetic's... thought? with his commanding tone. "Move to intercept the final battle cruiser. Do not fire unless you are 100% sure the quarians planetside will not be harmed."_ No way these fucking machines are taking Tali from me. Just hold out down there..._

EDI dutifully confirmed. "Understood Commander. The ship is attempting to enter the atmosphere. Pursuing, holding fire until organic signatures located on the planet." Inside her processors, she began to attempt to deduce why the geth had left peacefully.

Incomming transmission. Normandy. Video log. Message. No virus threat detected. Accessing.

'Don't fire on the geth unless they actively return fire.'

Fighting the Collectors.

Identified: Shepard-Commander located. Unit 1 will be alerted at next com buoy.

Building a Consensus.

Conclusion: Direct contact with Shepard-Commander required. Intervention for known Collector profiles offers highest possibility of contact.

Recorded. First non-violent confrentation with organics since Morning War.

Consensus achieved. Peace with organics a non-zero possibility. Unknown unit may affect outcome.

"Kal, what the hell is a ship doing here?" Aj nervously said, looking at the sky. A large silouette of a cruiser appeared high overhead, much to the quarian's (and Aj's) displeasure.

"Oh keelah..." Kal muttered, recognizing the specific owners. "ALL TEAMS DEFENSIVE POSITIONS ALERT INCOMING GETH CRUISER!"

A cruiser stayed far overhead, but within visual detection. A few smaller ships -likely dropships- flew out of the backside.

"Tali alert the fleet, we need arial support." Aj yelled desperately into his com unit. _Son of a bitch, I thought this was a covert op. How the hell did those machines find us...damnit damnit damnit._

After a few seconds, a barely audible reply was heard. "All communication signals have been...severed."

Kal and Aj gulped, staring at the approaching ships. Aj managed a weak smirk, at least for a moment. _Time to meet these worthless machines._


	15. Meet the Machines pt 2

"Commander Shepard, the geth cruiser is hovering above the quarian positions. The Thanix cannon would undoubtedly destroy the ship, but also pose a significant threat for collateral damage. We will be arriving within shuttle range in approximately ten minutes." EDI stated as the Normandy entered the atmosphere.

"Remove the stealth system, fire a few smaller GARDIANS, and have the Thanix targets locked on the ship at all times. We're going on foot. Call a meeting immediately."

"Understood Commander."

Once the small squad had been organized, he began his debriefing. Pulling up a scan of the current intel, he began. "Alright everyone, we have one geth cruiser above, but we cannot destroy it without risking the quarian squad below. We will be assisting as necessary"

"Damn suicide Shepard, it has a shit loa-." Zaaed barked.

Before he could continue, Jacob interjected. "Actually, if we can defeat or at least stall the ground forces, it shouldn't be too bad. We have Shepard, and all we need to do is draw it away from the quarians position, am I right Commander?"

Impressed by the man's quick observations, he made decision he doubted he'd ever make. Willingly allowing a Cerberus employer in charge. "Correct, and I've heard you understand Alliance coordination strategies, Jacob?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, you'll be leading the second squad. We're splitting up into two teams. We will deploy in the courtyard right here through an arial drop. There are still quarians left in the vacinity. You'll head away from the main forces with Zaeed and Kasumi, you'll need the firepower and Kasumi's... well, she's worthless I know bu-"

"HEY!" she squealed in protest.

"I'm kidding, gosh. You're a tech expert, and with you they'll have all three specialists. Besides, you do better with Jacob nearby" he added with a smirk, causing the normally smiling theif to blush slightly and stare at her hands. Jacob had not caught the joke, and merely was typing into his omnitool. "You'll move opposite of my squad and secure this landing area for extraction. Do not fire on any quarians. I recommend covering any Cerberus insignias you may have on any attire. Understood?"

The three replied in what seemed to be accepting tones, albeit Zaeed's grumbles never proclaimed an in-depth thought.

"Alright, I'm taking Scarface and Miranda towards this large building. There's a secure bunker with more signatures inside, so no explosives near the area" he glanced at Garrus, who lifted his talons in resignation.

"Alright alright, I get it !" the turian growled in mock protest.

"Mordin, I need you and Dr. Chakwas to prepare the AI room as a clean room, we may need to provide immediate medical assistance to the quarians."

Mordin to his credit, nodded and immediately excused himself to make the preparations.

"Meet me at the Kodiak ASAP, remember, synthetics, prepare accordingly. Move out"

After a minute of armoring up in his N-7 suit, he was sprinting to the elevator, when he heard a mechanical voice in his private channel.

"Commander Shepard." EDI suddenly quipped.

"Yes EDI? Make it quick"

"I detected a synthetic frequency, and it was not geth."

"Where is it located?" He questioned. _A non-geth synthetic... wait... Aj? _"Is it with the quarian squad?"

"Yes commander, I am unsure-"

"Relay the orders immediately, I'll explain later."

"Understood." If a synthetic could articulate words in confusion, EDI managed to in stride.

* * *

"We have located Shepard-Commander"

"Neutralize him, bring me the body." Harbinger boomed.

"We have also located a unique signature"

"Clarify."

"Organic and synthetic signatures detected. Located with Creators. Unknown, assuming hostilities."

"Bring it with Shepard."

"We will obey."

* * *

Kal was an experienced marine, but even he knew when shit had hit the fan. They had to hunker down and hope for the best, though the odds were already looking slim. The drop ships were moving in fast, and all 3 were headed right at the quarians.

"Kal ! We have the drop ships coming on our location, should we regroup?" a nervous Alpha team leader responded.

"We can't, no time. Take immediate defensive positions. We must protect Tali and the data at all costs. Keelah se'lai"

Minutes later, the courtyard was swarmed with geth. Kal could see in the distance the units dropping from the sweeping ships, and noticed they were outnumbered vastly. He quickly assumed at least ten geth per marine.

"Alpha holding position, but we need reinforcements! The hunters are tearing us apart, we've lost 1 and another is out of action!"

"Bravo holding position, we may- PRIME!"

Gunfire was heard, but no more responses.

"Delta assisting, more reinforcements, we cannot hold position I repeat! Shuttle overheard!

After a minute, Kal screamed into his com. His unit, Epsilon, had only seen a few geth units which had snuck by the other squads, and had no casualties or injuries to report.

"ALPHA TEAM?" nothing greeted him but static.

"BRAVO TEAM? DELTA?"

"BRAVO DOWN, FALLING BACK!"

"Understood, meet up with us here. He sprinted towards the 'entrance' to his courtyard, with Aj close behind, who was unusually quiet. His squad was behind, ready to support. After another minute, three quarians sprinted past them, informing the two they were all what was left of the two squads. _Alpha is out..._he thought to himself. _12 good marines dead for a stupid fuc-_

"KAL ! I'm reading another ship, but it's Cerberus!" Tali squealed, but the realization dawned on her as the words left her mouth. _Shepard..._"IT'S SHEPARD!"

"How do you know it's him?"

"We're in geth space Kal. Who else would come here all of the sudden?"

"Understood, anything else?"

"No Kal, I can't establish any decent communication. Wait, a signal just came from it. It's heavily encrypted? DAMNIT no time!"

Suddenly, a brief sensation of information came to him, he felt it... almost like an order, but nobody spoke. It was about a courtyard, and Shepard's squad, but it was so sudden that he didn't quite get all of it. Nervously, he relayed the information. "Hey Kal?"

"Yes Aj?"

"Shepard's going to deploy his squad in the main courtyard"

"How do you know?"

"I felt it..." he murmured, unsure what else to say.

"Are you sure?" Kal knew of his... special talents, but had not seen them often in person.

"Yes... I... it was fast, though. I only caught courtyard and Shepard."

"Defend this location everyone! We must hold this position!" Kal barked through his com. "SEAL THE SECOND BULKHEAD TALI !" Kal ordered.

"Got it Kal, they should be cut off." She quickly responded.

Aj had felt a twinge as soon as the units had fallen, assuming they were the cause, and noticed it was getting stronger. At first, it was a small voice, murmuring in the background, and he assumed it was static noise. As it approached, however, he heard a terrifyingly low voice, louder than anything around him. **'Do not resist. Surrender, and you may be allowed to ascend.' **He screamed, but not through words. In his head, he bellowed as loud as he could refusing. **'You will come with us, alive or dead.'**

Not understanding the meaning, but the implications, he bellowed, "GETH APPROACHING!"

"WE KNO-"

Almost immediately a couple of geth units popped up from the corner, opening fire.

They lasted less than a second, cut down by all seven marines.

Kal looked amazed, and turned to him. "What did you-"

The human was staring at the corner, and looked at him. He could feel the coldness emanating from the man when he replied, "They're telling me to surrender so I can survive."

Before the quarian leader could articulate a response, geth came pouring in, a mechanical stream.

A minute later, they heard a fantastic voice. Fantastic due to its vivid expression of emotion and lack of mechanical semblance. "This is Commander Shepard offering assistance. I need a sitrep now!"

* * *

Shepard's Kodiak had flown in under fire, but EDI's precise flying skills had allowed a hot drop off at the courtyard with minimal damage. Jacob, Kasumi, and Zaeed immediately broke off and headed towards the proposed landing site, and heavy fire was heard.

Hitting the ground, Shepard whipped out his Vindicator, Miranda her Locust, and Garrus his Mantis. There were scattered dead quarians everywhere, and even more unwelcoming geth units. They were under heavy fire, but managed to run into a semi-open hangar bay.

Garrus immediately scoped a geth, causing its head to disappear in a sparking mess, while Miranda was busy keeping a Hunter at bay. He picked off a couple of geth as well before focusing in on the Hunter, when he saw another spark by an unsuspecting Garrus.

"GARRUS!"

The turian faced him and caught the slight glimmer, firing a short-range round directly into its left arm, severing it from the body. The Hunter still held the shotgun in the other hand, and raised it to fire, before Miranda biotically pushed it into a wall; its lack of movement thereafter confirmed the success. They held their ground until they broke the lines and began advancing on the position. Garrus took a left and walked up to a vantage point, while Miranda and Shepard stuck to the lower ground.

"We need to get across the courtyard, Garrus cover us" Before beginning the charge from the last concrete cover, he heard the crackle of his com unit.

"Jacob reporting, no live quarians yet, advancing"

"Understood, keep me posted." He cut the communication just in time to see a Prime unit with five regular units fall between him and the door he had to get through.

"PRIME! Fire at its joints! Miranda, overload!"

Miranda was plucking the smaller units from around the Prime, but immediately complied. Shepard aimed a precision incinerate, taking down most of its armor, and rained hell with his Vindicator. The heavy staggered, but a smaller unit's rocket cut off his offense and forced him to duck behind cover, Miranda as well, when they suddenly heard a snide, "Scoped and droped !". They stood up to see the Prime's headless form slump to the ground, while the remaining geth were quickly mopped up. Garrus joined the squad during the brief interlude of combat, and they quickly ran into the small room of cover, sealing the door behind them.

Running inside the cover, Garrus chimed in, "You owe me a drink, Shep."

"Sure, when Solana and I go on a date, you're welcome to join"

The equivalent of a gasp was made by the suddenly fidgeting turian, but it was interrupted by Miranda's voice from the room's opposite corner. "The door in front of us is sealed, Commander." She looked at Garrus and rolled her eyes, but continued, "But we have a signal coming from the quarians." She forwarded him the data through his omnitool, patching him through.

"This is Commander Shepard offering assistance. I need a sitrep now!"

Kal immediately answered, "Tali unlock the bulkhead! Shepard, you should be clear, rendevous ASAP."

The Commander replied in a much less worried tone, likely after hearing Tali's name mentioned, "What's the situation?"

"We're down to eight marines, me and Aj, but they keep pouring in overhead."

"We need to take out the frigate. EDI !"

"Commander, there is a 17% chance of collateral dam-"

"DO IT!"

"Very well"

"Kal, put your squad to cover" we'll come to you.

Thankfully, the resistance was only a single geth Hunter along with a dozen basic units; no trouble for the infamous Shepard himself.

* * *

"Understood Commander. EVERYONE DEFENSIVE POSITIONS IMM-"

Before he could finish, however, a blinding blue light shone in the sky. The squad's cheers could barely be heard by the large explosion, but they died down when a few fragments of debris came from the sky. Unfortunately two marines were caught by a larger piece, and fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

_Keelah...this wrong. _He shook his head, and looked at Aj, who had been aiming down the alleyway the entire time.

Aj turned his head to Kal, who was just shaking it, looking at the freshly dead squadmates.

"I'm sorry Kal" he put a hand on his shoulder "But they gave their lives for us. The cruiser is gone, it shouldn't be-" but the screaming came back in his head, close by.

**'YOU HAVE FAILED !'**

Kal and Aj watched in horror as a geth Collosus and roughly ten basic units fell right next to Tali's entrance; it quickly fired a seige pulse at an unsuspecting marine, dwindling their count back to the original five. The remaining geth opened fire on the others, who had thankfully hidden quicker than their former comrade. They ran to where the geth were running out from, and readied their weapons.

Aj's Revenant was by no means accurate at far range, but the remaining marines had taken cover and were distracting the smaller units. His disrupter ammo quickly took down its shields, but it hid a few seconds, returning with a full shield, but turned around.

"DAMNIT ! It has a repair protocol !" Kal screamed.

Suddenly Tali's frightened voice appeared over the com, "KAL? What's going on? I heard... oh keelah... what is hitting the door? Please..."

Another couple of marines were taken down, but Aj and Kal were barely slowing down their assault. Their position was terrible for offensive operations with two people, and they noticed more geth falling from the sky. They still aimed and fired, distracting some, and causing the Collosus to turn around... for now. Aj started using his Overload to his advantage, managing to take down some of the closer units.

The final three marines huddled together behind a large pillar, only to have a seige pulse come from the recently turned Collosus explode nearby, killing two. The third uncerimoniously was removed from cover, and screamed in terror while shooting at a geth. He managed to take one down, but the others cut through his suit, bathing him in his own blood. The marine, however, with one last act of defiance, tossed a grenade before collapsing. It destroyed a couple more geth, but still roughly a dozen remained.

Suddenly they heard footsteps, and turned around thankfully to the sight of two humans and a turian heavily armored. He focused on listening to them, and actually managed to pick something up.

* * *

"Good job Jacob, hold the location until extraction, do not disembark." the taller man in N-7 armor stated.

"Undersood"

Aj was unsure if Kal had heard the conversation, but he knew who this was.

"Commander Shepard, Tali is on the other side" Aj yelled over the geth gunfire on their location.

"What is the situ-"

"AJ! SHEPARD!? IT'S RAMMING THE DOOR! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER IT WILL HOLD !" Tali yelled into the unit.

"Was that Tali?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, we need to get over there." He replied.

"There's a Collosus over there, it's got a repair protocal. We need to hit it close." Kal added.

"Okay, here's the plan. Kal, use your sniper, you and Garrus head to the ledge on the right and cover for us." Both nodded.

"Us three will need to head on the right side; the middle is suicide."

Aj nodded as well as Miranda. "MOVE OUT!" Shepard shouted.

As soon as they left cover, their shields flickered, but Miranda, Aj, and Shepard's return fire soon quelled it down a little, allowing Kal and Garrus to head to their locations. The triage jogged over to the left side, taking out a few units.

"THE WALL IS BREAKING" Tali sounded like she was crying, but it was more of helplessness than anger. It sounded like his first pleads, so long ago, when he first heard her voice. He was begging to stay awake; she was begging for her life.

Aj had felt the adrenaline creeping, but that set him over the edge.

Miranda and Shepard were under cover, there were five units in front, but Shepard and Miranda's biotics threw them into the middle of the courtyard, killing three while the other two became easy targets for the snipers. Two shots confirmed their claim.

Without a word, they ran forward, only meeting two more small units before they rounded the corner.

There it was. The Collosus. It turned its head towards the three, who hid behind cover. It was still ramming the door, but it was aiming at them. He heard the yelling in his head. It kept telling him he would fail, he would die. He was nothing. He was a failed mergence. He was an abomination. They were destined for ascension.

Miranda overloaded its shields, and Shepard was firing his Vindicator from cover. The occasional sniper round confirmed the other two's afinity for their respective tasks.

Aj broke from cover as well, and saw what he dreaded most.

The wall broke down.

Shepard fired a few rockets from his missile launcher right before, but they managed only to slow it down. Miranda's biotics were not affecting it.

There was only one option at this point. A direct interface. He thought it required direct contact; it worked with the YMIR.

Aj broke from cover, sprinting at the machine. He overloaded its shields, but it only sparked and continued.

He threw out an incineration, but it hardly left a scratch.

He heard Miranda and Shepard yelling, but he couldn't hear. He heard the gunfire, but didn't slow down.

He saw the machine turns towards him.

He felt the surge of power throughout his body, rage empowering every fiber of his being, every synthetic material in his body was charged to capacity.

He did not know why, but he would never make it to the Collosus.

He reached his arms out, hoping for a repeat tackle endeavor as last time. His death would be a good one. To save the woman he loved.

A current went throughout his body, one he'd never felt before... never this... primal?

He heard a thundering crack, but his eyes went blank before he could have seen his work.

He collapsed to the ground, bleeding through every orifice in his skull.

Shepard and Miranda were amazed, and in apparent shock.

A large bolt of... lightining?... had suddenly appeared from the rampaging lunatic.

The bolt hit the machine, burning off its ocular sensor. The headless machine fell to the ground, lifeless.

At the moment Tali had heard the door crash, she basically threw the scientists away from the field of fire. She stood there and watched the machine as it slowly aimed its head at her, expecting herself to die.

She would never be able to tell the human she cared for him. She knew he had lost his lover, but he was still here. He was still alive, after all he'd lost. He had another chance. She saw everything who he was, or thought she did, even though he was different in nearly every way from her.

She saw the head of the creature suddenly melt, a bright flash momentarily stunning her vision and heard a thundering crack. It fell lifeless to the ground.

Everything was a blur.

She slowly walked out, and immediately saw Shepard's trademark armor running towards... her?

He stopped before he reached her, yelling something inaudible through his com set.

She saw what he was kneeling at, and walked a little closer.

There he was, lying in his own blood.

It was her turn to scream.


	16. Saved by the Bell

Shepard ran to the man, pausing in horror as he noticed the small pool of blood around his head. He was face down in the red fluid.

"JACOB BRING THE KODIAK TO MY LOCATION NOW."

"Will do."

He bent down to apply medigel, and while doing so, a sound permeated his ears. It was heartwrenching, reaching deep into his soul. A scream, louder and higher-pitched than he had ever heard before. He looked up to see one of his closest friends sprinting at him, collapsing by the dying human.

"AJ!" She yelled, putting her hand on his shoulders and slightly shaking him.

Garrus barked, "Shepard are yo-" but he was cut off by another scream to Aj's name, louder, but pleading. She was frantically shaking his body. He had never seen her like this, even after Freedoms Progress.

"Tali stop! We have an expert doctor on board" He barked. Garrus and Kal had raced towards them, but stopped when they saw the scene. There were no longer any geth units in the area.

Shepard flipped the body, and saw the small trickle of his red lifewater flowing from his eyes, nose, and ears.

Miranda was holding up her omnitool, and read off, "We need to stop the bleeding immediately or he-"

"SHUT UP!" The quarian woman begged, not in spite. She gently cradled his right hand in both her own, gently pleading, "Please Aj...don't...not like" but the rest of her vocalizations were cut off by a soft sobbing.

While she was on her knees, Garrus saw his sister in a way he hadn't seen in two years, broken. He stood watch, waiting for the shuttle, thinking what to do or say when she loses her friend; Miranda and a quarian scientist were working on Aj's head with medigel, but the blood would accumulate pressure if the external orifices were clogged. His brain was slowly leaking. Shepard kneeled by Tali, unsure what to say, and put his hand on her shoulder; he slowly rubbed it, and the girl turned her visor towards him, softly weeping_. First her mother, he remembered, now one of her best friends...he thought, embracing the young quarian._

Kal looked at the woman he felt as his sister, the one person he trusted without a doubt, withering on her knees in front of him. He silently prayed to the Ancestors to spare the human's life. Even they should be able to notice one main point. Love transcends species. Tali did not deserve to lose her inszel, no matter where he was born or if they realized their own selves. He hoped they had not missed their chance.

The shuttle ride was quiet besides her gentle sobs, and the occasional beep of the omnitool. The other quarians had left on their own ride, not before Kal got Shepard's contact information. He would be her new captain, at least for a while. Tali wouldn't speak, and sat between Garrus and Shepard...nothing could be said.

The darkness immediately consumed him, the sweet merciful tendrils of death enveloped his very being. He felt the pain throughout his body, but he could not see, he could not hear. He wanted to beg for death. Finally, an end to the shamble of a life he had orchestrated. But after only a moment, he heard a voice. A voice long departed, but never forgotten.

_"Aj..."_

_He only saw darkness, but the voice repeated._

_"Is this how you want to die?"_

_"Ha..Harumi?" She appeared before him, overlooking as if he was laying down._

_"Why are you giving up?" She questioned, her face emotionless._

_I... Its long past" He was interrupted when her figure kneeled by his side, and grasped his right hand between hers. The pain lessened, but the hand didn't feel like hers. It was smaller...longer._

_"You would leave her to mourn her love die before her very eyes?"_

_He stammered, "You died Harumi !"_

_Her face looked again at him, piercing his very being and he felt the hands let go. " You know who you love, Aj."_

_He felt his tears build, "I... But a month ago, you...and...we can't...species..." He trailed off into her ever reaching gaze._

_Her gaze softened, and she quietly replied. "Its been a long time Aj. You lived." She lowered her head, "The time we had together was short, but it was the happiest of my life. But we never had a chance. Everything happens for a reason, and we will never get back what we lost."_

_She looked back up and smiled, the smile he remembered from their first day as prospective parents. "You can be happy, and enjoy your life with someone who deeply cares for you, or you can give up, and break her soul. We will never be together. Don't be afraid to follow your heart, no matter where it leads. Don't waste your chance, the one you've fought so hard for, by giving up. True love will bypass any obstacle of a physical manifestation."_

_Before he could respond, the light returned on the horizon. He got up, and began walking. But then he heard a quiet laugh, a familiar one. He turned around, and saw her smiling back at him, with an arm around his father. His father had his sister squeezing his arm, beaming at Aj. He was smiling at his son, pointing at the light. He turned, and didn't look back. The light surrounded him._

Mordin and Dr. Chakwas had been performing surgery, mostly drainage and resealing arteries, for quite a few hours. Both were orered to keep his added bioogy a secret, which Mordin actually looked sad at. A certain quarian was in a much worse demeanor about the same man. Tali couldn't speak to anyone, even Shepard. They were orbiting a planet called Korlus, but she couldn't care, she couldn't focus. She tried, but she kept staring at the med bay, screaming inside to get in. She had never felt this emotion in her life. Every fiber in her body wanted to enter. She was sitting by the doorway, waiting...crying...begging. Mordin had to sedate her to get Aj into the room without her clutching his hand.

The door suddenly opened. Dr. Chakwas motioned for her, and Tali was allowed in.

"Tali, we've done all we cou-" She stopped, noticing the woman frantically ran right past her.

Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, the only blemish on her lavender complexion. There he was, a few tubes in his nose and ears. An IV was in his left wrist. But the worst part was his face. It looked like he was fighting, fighting something horrible. She gently sat beside him, while Mordin was monitoring the equipment. Mordin looked at her, and simply stated, "Mostly healed. Substantial blood loss. Difficulty regaining concious. May never..." but decided not to hurt the girl even more. Even salarians understood when to let emotion take over. He walked away from the patient and brought up his omnitool looking at the scans again, mesmerized by the complex synthetic pieces.

"Keelah Aj... Why...twice now. You're... hurt because..." _Because of me...I should have told him...how much he means...even if he..._She looked at her hands, never before ashamed of her suit, her three digits, her small claws...her quarian biology. Today she cursed herself for being...herself. Here he ways, risking it all for her. She didn't even have the guts to tell him...she was in love with him. Still looking at her hands, she weakly whispered out loud, "Why would anyone want to bond with a...quarian...anyway, especially him."

Cupping his right hand, she stared into his face, hoping, by whichever Ancestors would listen, to save him. Why should she continue while he suffered, and then died to protect her. She wasn't worth his life. She looked at his hand, and nearly jumped when the five fingers gently curled around her three. She looked back up. Her heart stopped for a moment as green eyes met hers.

The light dimmed. It was black, but he creaked his eyes slightly, feeling something comforting. He felt a hand, a familiar small hand, in his own. She was there. She was okay. He closed his hand, holding the person who made it worth living. He opened his eyes to see beautiful shimmering silver dots behind a visor, focused right on his own. There was only one thing he could think to say.

"Tali." He barely whispered. "I'm not leaving you, I promise." He was exhausted, but managed a weak smile from behind all of the tubes. His eyes were heavy, and he could not fight the sleep. This time, however, he rested with the smile, his peace holding his hand. Fresh tears stained her cheeks, but now a smile radiated from her beautiful face.

Tali sat there for a moment as an excited Mordin called Shepard, but she wasn't listening. He looked so...peaceful. His skin glistened under the bright light, unavailable on the fleet besides the medical bay. Tan skin with a glimmer of silver, but her mind was blank, just smiling that he was alive. She decided it was time to let him rest, so she reluctantly let go of his hand to head out... 'hopefully I'll feel it again', she thought while reliving his short moment.

Shepard was relieved planetside, the guy woke up, even for a moment. He was wondering if Tali was more than just his friend when suddenly Jacob's biotics and Zaeed's rifle returned him to the present._ Still got a krogan to pick up, he chuckled._

Garrus exited the forward batteries, previously worried about his close friend. She hadn't even responded logically to simple questions, and kept staring at the medical room. Shepard had left him for the krogan warlord pickup, and before he could respond, Shepard stated, "Garrus, you saw her, and we're her only friends on board. I don't want her alone in case...just please keep an eye on her."

Feelings were often only a second priority, even his lust for revenge on Sidonis, but this was different. He nodded and walked to his post, informing Mordin he needed to know any developments.

After only an hour, however, Mordin called him saying his patient had woken up. He stared for a second as he saw the previously unresponsive quarian practically skipping out of the med bay. She rushed to Dr. Chakwas who was smiling by the kitchen area and nearly tackled the poor woman.

"Thank you so much! And the salarian doctor thank you!" She squealed in excitement.

To her credit, the older woman survived the infamous quarian pounce while remaining on her two feet. She smiled and released the hug, replying, "Don't worry, we'll get your boyfriend all fixed up in no time."And patted her shoulder, walking towards the med bay.

Garrus noticed immediately after the woman said boyfriend -turian ears were very acute-, Tali's hands began squirming. She was looking at the doctor as she entered, not noticing the turian approaching.

"Hey Tali, I'm glad you're okay. I take it Dr. Chakwas still knows how to push your buttons." He motioned at her fingers, which stopped at their recognition.

"Oh, um, thanks. She just...likes to say things what...uh"

"Follow me." He motioned, and she did. "Shepard got some scotch from Palaven, said it would heal my scar faster or help me care less. Hell, I think it did both!" His antics managed to get a giggle out of the girl. _Yup, Tali is back. His mandibles moved in the equivalent of a smile._

She was content with Aj's promise, and decided to take her mind elsewhere. Garrus knocked on the door and grumbled his name. "I bet, so how'd you get it?"She questioned.

Garrus chuckled as the door opened. Tali noticed a small human laying on the couch, who looked up and smiled. "You can talk!" She squeaked. She stood up and bowed, "I'm Kasumi!"

Garrus went right to digging through the bar, while Tali began wringing her fingers again. She looked down at her hands, _keelah why do I always get nerv-_

The petite thief saw the girl look down at her hands, aimlessly fumbling about, and decided a response may not come. "Take a seat! Humans aren't as mean as turians!"

Garrus replied, "Scales beat your soft skin, hands down!" This banter got a small giggle out of her and she took a seat a few feet from Kasumi.

Garrus approached with a bottle and two glasses, but was stopped before he sat.

"None for me?" Kasumi pouted.

Ah fine, women..." and grabbed some Thessian brandy and a glass for her.

"So, you really want to hear the story?" Garrus asked while pouring each their respective drinks. Tali got out her straw and nodded while Garrus found the single seater and rubbed his right mandible.

"Oh gosh, this one again?"

"She hasn't heard it! And maybe she'll tell us her story!"

Tali was terribly confused at the last part, and spoke for the first time. Not before trying the scotch, a sweet, but powerful concoction. "Wh..what story?"

Garrus nearly spat out his first gulp and laughed, while Kasumi sipped her brandy and smirked.

"Bosh'tet!" She directed at Garrus. "Why'd you lure me in here?"

The turian managed to calm down and simply stated, " Well, how did you end up falling for a human?" Kasumi's grin widened quite a bit.

Tali had barely swallowed her scotch sip, warming her stomach. The last statement, however, sent a cold chill down her spine and caused the young quarian's entire body to tense. If anyone coud have seen her face, her sharp canines and front teeth actually managed to cut her bottom lip, ever so slightly. She couldn't wring her fingers, thanks to the scotch glass. She slumped her shoulders, unable to admit her 'selfish' desires to anyone.

The room was dead silent for a moment.

Kasumi, however, noticed the quarian tense up, and unknowingly made their newest female shipmate extremely grateful. "Hey Scarface, let's tell her about your crazy last stand first." Tali heard the new name and looked up at the turian and couldn't supress a laugh.

"Aww come on, I've never heard of-" but a quick glare from the Japanese lady stopped his perusing. _The theif had no idea she was the receiver of a very grateful smile._

Garrus grumbled in defeat. "So there I was, stuck on a loft, by myself, when suddenly four extremely heavily armored humans started shooting their team!" He continued...

"Apparently it turned on them because of her" He pointed a talon at Kasumi, who had a mischievous grin.

"Aren't you forgetting how we met?" She snickered after saying and looked at Tali, who had finished her first cup and was pouring a second. Garrus was on his 4th. "Turians can squeal !"

Garrus was rubbing his good mandible sheepishly, and Tali looked at him giggling, "So you can face a Reaper, but a tiny human scares you?"

Garrus slyly retorted, "Says the one with a krogan sized one!" And laughed at his own joke.

While Tali was blushing furiously, Kasumi quipped, "I waited until the mech fired, and decloaked in front of him right by Shep. He sounded like an asari schoolgirl!"

The rest of the story wasn't as humerous, but made up for it with action,suspense, and a near tragedy. It had taken only thirty or so minutes to speak the entirety. Kasumi had sipped two glasses of wine, Garrus, a lot, and Tali was on her third.

"But Shepard got my ass out of the fire, and killed Tarak with a grenade launcher. Damn near shot ten grenades at the blink." His mandibles switched into a smirk. "So, now it's your turn Miss Zorah!"

Again, she was saved, but by an unlikely ally. "Garrus, Shepard has requested your assistance in relocating a heavy package from Korlus. He is at the cargo bay."

The turian growled, but reluctantly left his post. Not before a final quip, however, or at least attempt. "So not even a yes or-" but the door shut and the locking mechanism activated, hiding the disgruntled soldier's prying eyes. Kasumi was grinning while deactivating her omnitool.

Tali had been mostly quiet, asking a few questions, and sipping the fantastic liquor.

The theif scooted by the quarian, and poured herself a third glass. "Hehe, well Tali, it's time for some girl talk. Her smile was of curiosity, but also excitement. "I thought quarians only...hooked up...with their own after their pilgrimage thingy. Your dossier says, vas Neema nar Rayya! Sooo..." she smiled at the vocal emitter's light beeping for a moment, only hearing a gasp and a 'keelah'. "Yes I knew a few of your kind, but that's for later!"

There was no more dodging available for miss Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Whether it be the slight alcohol euphoria, or the fact that she was grateful for kicking out the male gossip, it was time. _Time to spill the...peas? No wait, beans...she thought to herself._ With a sigh, and another sip, she began to pour her out heart, expecting the woman to call her an idiot or crazy.

_Made by Calinstel:_

**Inszel:** Term of status or standing within a social circle. Literal translation: Most trusted confidant and partner. Used to describe the personal relationship of an individual. Implies a deep personal connection. Humans would say girlfriend or boyfriend but these only touch the surface of what it truly means.


	17. Protective Instinct

Today was not a good day for Kal. He had been onboard the Neema for a few hours waiting. His trusted friend and her human...partner...had not come back from Haestrom. Also, he saw the scientists enter the room previously, no doubt for their interrogations. The door opened, and three quiet quarians scurried off in a hurry.

Kal stepped in to see Admiral Gerrel, Raan, and Zorah.

"Please sit down" Shala'Raan stated diplomatically.

He nodded, and Han spoke, "Tali'Zorah and Antonio'Sanchez have been approved for a temporary command hiatus on the Normandy. They will still serve the flotilla if needed. I wish to reinstate your position as a squad leader, and humbly thank you on behalf of the fleet for your services." He walked out, not before grasping the marines shoulder for a moment and smiling.

"Now, we reviewed your report and-" but Raan was interrupted.

"And, you disrespected my family's name! How can you suggest my daughter has entered pemla'tiyl, possibly even hecs'tiyl, with a human!? I demand to know!" Rael's interjection seethed with anger.

_Keelah, those scientists wanted to know why we left them, and now they tell her father. Can't keep a secret can they. Damnit..._

His pause earned him another outburst, "Out with it!"

"Because I know what it's like. I have been her friend for a long time, and I have been in pemla'tiyl with her, but it will stay as a true friendship, the hum-"

"You are a quarian!" He bellowed.

"Rael, please calm down, Kal cannot explain his opinion with these rude interruptions." Shala calmly added. The admiral glared at her, but softened up slightly. Raan was well-known for her ability to never jump to conclusions.

Kal cleared his throat, and continued, "Tali has been on the path since Freedom's Progress, I believe. She would not speak of it, even to me, and I see even her guardians."

"Kal, many have attempted...sexual encounters... with asari, turian, and even stories of batarians, but none have entered any phase of bonding, why do you suggest this?" the female admiral asked.

"I never wish to see her in so much pain again, ma'am. I heard her scream over the sound of the last two remaining geth. I ran to save her, and saw her clutching the hand of Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema", he said the name slowly, "in a way which could only mean she has reached hecs'tiyl." He felt the tension from Rael, it was neaely tangible.

"Bonding past the first stage cannot continue if one side has an infatuation, Reegar. He cannot feel as we do." growled Rael.

"That is true Kal, surely a human cannot understand our paths of know how deep they touch our very souls." Raan stated.

"You are correct. He came to me and spoke, stating the exact words 'Tali's made me feel ways I've never felt before' before the mission."

"How did you respond?" Raan was starting to believe the marine, but it still...was so...strange to her.

"I was unable to besides to tell him to sort out his feelings ma'am."

"How could he possibly care about my daughter? He does not understand our suits, our lov-" but Rael was interrupted by an angry quarian.

"He has risked his life, not once, but twice for her! How can you question his intentions? Who else does she speak to daily? Who else has she cared for? NOBODY!" He yelled, protecting his closest friend and her lover. "Doubt my words all you want, but I am no idiot! I have known her most of my life, and I love her as the sister I will never have! I can clearly see how happy he makes her, how he even gave up his own species comnendations, and for what? To serve a people who had shown him nothing but fear and contempt beforehand? No! He wanted to protect your daughter, and fell in love with her!" The marine stormed out of the room, expecting hell at a later date.

Rael was speechless, but livid. He was about to get up when Shala placed her hand on his forearm. "I do believe he is correct, Rael."

"How can you possibly believe she could bond with a...a...human!" He was fuming, but the next words struck him like a brick.

"Because I care about Tali's happiness." She got up and left. She was going to remove the human and Tali's possessions into storage before they were thrown out.

Rael was confused, livid, and uncertain. He sent a message to Kal to relay to Commander Shepard, carefully not mentioning the other human in question. He thought about the commander after he had sent it. He held Shepard in high regard, even though he was with...the vile demon Cerberus. But he had stolen a ship to save the galaxy, he had kept his daughter safe and even helped her get terabytes of geth data for the fleet. Tali had told him how crushed he was to leave his best friend to die, a friend he lov-... The word struck him, his own words this time. Rael stared at the wall, asking the Ancestors if a human can truly care about his child.

"I...I don't think you'd understand Kasumi..." Tali wearily replied.

"Why not? Humans love too."

"But we quarians are different. There is a pathway which has been with us since ancient times, even before the suits made it a necessity."

"So, you" She stated slowly, "Love him, but you don't think he loves you?"

"I..but... how did you?" She felt her eyes water for the umpteenth time this day. "Kasumi, I...I can't help it! Everything about him is different, even for humans!" She hung her head. "And I..I am just a quarian, he could have...he should..." She trailed off, afraid of even thinking of him with another.

"So, you think a person who willingly threw himself at a Collosus doesn't care about you just because of your differences?"

"He...lost someone...in a shipwreck...she...she had his child..."

"And you think he hasn't gotten over her?"

"I don't know, keelah, it has been barely over a month for him!"

"Time isn't important Tali. The worst thing you can do is hide your feelings from him. He looks like a tough guy, but he might need time" Tali felt horrible, but she knew she was right. "Tali... I lost my Keiji not too long ago. If a man could truly love me, even if I still grieved a little, my life would be much...happier." A small tear rolled down her cheek. "If you truly love him, you'd tell him. He doesn't need a replacement, he needs someone who cares. Do you?"

"Yes, but..."

"No butts. You'd regret it if someone else was there for him more than the worst thing he could say to you. Now, go talk to him!" Tali imagined a human, and an asari standing between her and him, and just the thought made her very...angry...protective...possessive...

"Th..thanks Kasumi."

"Oh hush or I'll tell Garrus you wanted to tell him too!" She grinned at the quarian's eyes suddenly widening.

"No no no!" With a new sense of purpose, she left the room, with a small Asian girl happily smiling at her handiwork.

She walked through to the mess table when she saw a hulking krogan walking towards the door. A giant angry beast storming right to where he lay helpless, unprotected. She was infuriated, and growled with a deep anger she had never felt before and ran to the med bay. Her outburst gained the attention of Rupert and Kelly, who were sitting, and had been staring at the krogan also. They both watched in horror as the quarian stood defiantly growling between the door and a very pissed off krogan.

"COMMANDER TO THE MED BAY ASAP!" The yeoman yelled into her com as the two stood still, facing each other. A deep growl was emanating from the reptile, but an even louder, angrier one from the small, helpless quarian.

Shepard had talked the super krogan into joining his crew, and had just checked on the engineers who asked him to get a new piece of equipment to help reduce calibrations. He and Garrus were in the elevator headed to the med bay to make sure the krogan followed his orders, to check in to Dr. Chakwas for a healthy body scan for future medical treatment if necessary. Even they couldn't heal everything.

"Do you think she will be okay?" Garrus asked on the slow ascent up.

"She survived Wrex, and he was a thousand years old, but we should make sure he doesn-"

"COMMANDER TO THE MED BAY ASAP!" His yeoman screamed, instantly causing both to fear for the worst. They exited the elevator and turned the corner just in time to see a krogan charging...TALI?!

"Out of my way, quarian" The krogan roared.

"Get..Away..From..My..Aj." She stammered, not at all fearing the deadly warrior in front of her. "Or I will kill you."

The krogan smiled, a threat meant a fight. His first kill would be an easy one. His imprints told him quarians were weak, just like humans, salarians, and asari. He roared and charged at the girl, who was only a few feet away.

Instantly Tali remembered the two things Garrus taught her. Take out the joints, and the head plate. She jumped out of the way of the bloodraging animal and used her powerful right leg to kick him square in the left knee, sending him right to the ground. She took the moment to unsheath her knife, while it got up and charged again without any noticeable injury. She dodged it again, but the krogan's extended right arm hit her, sending her over the table and it...well into the table.

She saw a redheaded female kneel by her and her lips moved, but nothing was heard. She got up and charged at the krogan, who was momentarily stunned by the near starship hull material table. She jumped the table and tackled it, and landed on her knees above its head. It was on its back, but before it could react, her knife was lodged under its head plate. The krogan's eyes showed...fear?...but there would be no mercy to the beast who threatened her love. Before she could pull hard enough, a familiar taloned hand grabbed her wrist. She saw Garrus looking at her concerned, and looked in front of her at Shepard, who had a pistol trained on the beast's head. She reluctantly removed the knife and sprinted towards the med bay while Garrus stayed with Shepard.

When she got to the med bay, Aj was still asleep. Dr. Chakwas had a facial expression of pure fright, undoubtedly she heard the fight, the growls, the crash. She sat by the sleeping human and held his hand. _He is safe, keelah, he is okay, she thought with a smile._ She resolved herself to tell him everything, and only hoped he wouldn't break her heart too much. Her surge of adrenaline died down, and she fell asleep sitting on the chair still intertwining her three digits with his five. Her head was gently resting on his chest, over the heart she so deeply desired.

"What the fuck are you doing attacking my crew Grunt?" Shepard barked. An angry Garrus was opposite him from the still laying krogan.

"She threatened my passage under YOUR orders, then my life." He growled.

"She threatened you?" Shepard and Garrus were stunned to say the least.

EDI voiced, "That is correct commander, although her stance indicated she was defending the medical bay. I assume she felt her acquaintance was under threat, and acted accordingly"

Shepard holstered his gun, "Alright Grunt, sorry I hadn't thought about warning the crew. I'll talk to her. I do not expect you to attack anyone on board my ship, however, understood? EDI, inform the crew we have a krogan squad member please"

"Yes battlemaster." And he stood up. "I will return to my post, the doctors...can wait." _The human has a quad and the quarian girl can fight. I think I will like this krantt, he thought while walking away. Okeer did not teach me everything. He touched his head plate for reassurance._

Oddly, Shepard noticed he lumbered away with a huge grin. Once he was out of earshot, he stated, "EDI, if he threatens a crewman, inform me, and any of the ground team nearby."

"Yes commander" She replied.

He looked over at Garrus who was replacing the chairs to their positions with Kelly. "Let's go check on Tali, those were some impressive moves honestly. Was it her what was growling?"

With a smirk, or a mandibular equivalent, he replied,"Heh, I don't know, but the poor girl has been through hell today, I'd cut her some slack. Glad she took my advice, though I've never seen anyone willingly tackle a krogan head on!"

When they opened the door,a smiling Dr. Chakwas had her finger above her lip, "Shh, they're asleep, both of them could really use it. Tali just needs some rest, I don't think she's going going to be any trouble"

And there was the lady of the hour, sleeping on Aj's chest. Both of them noticed their hands, albeit slightly awkwardly, clasped together. Her helmet was facing him; her arms looked quite small against the hulking figure, but it was an extremely heartwarming scene nonetheless.

"Huh, so Tali has a human boyfriend?" The doctor's smile did not abate, but she merely shrugged.

They both stared at the scene for a second before Garrus started to walk away with a thoughtful expression. "Where are you going Garrus?"

"Oh, just to have a little chat with Kasumi" he stated pausing and turning.

"Geez, another dextro-levo love fest, great!" He smirked at the baffled turian's expression.

"What? No! It's about Tali you know I-"

"Yeah yeah I know" Shepard retorted, waving him off with an amused grin. Before Garrus was out of earshot, however, he loudly added, "You can't cheat on your not so secret admirer, Dr. Michel!" He managed to see the turian turn and scowl before stomping away to the bar.

After a slight chuckle, he added "EDI, tell Joker to head to the Osun system, we've got another recruit to pick up." He looked at the dossier and shook his head. _Great, a dangerous convict biotic. Just what we need, another loose cannon._

He headed to his quarters for some much needed shut eye. Before headed to bed, he smiled remembering how cute the little quarian girl looked resting on the giant's chest. _I still can't believe shes fallen for a human!_ His own heart was lonely, however, and glanced over at his bedside picture of Ashley. _It's been barely over two weeks for me, but two years for her... Does she even still love me? Even if she does...Cerberus? _He went to bed, thinking about their time before Illos, hoping she would feel the same way.

**Pemla'tiyl**: Term for courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the mind, the first of the three phases that lead to bonding. The period of time where the couple learns of one another through a deep sharing of thoughts. May lead to bonding or just a very deep friendship.

**Hecs'tiyl:** Term of courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the heart. Second of three: Signifying the period where the needs of both begin to overrule the needs of self. Almost always leads to bonding though this phase is usually the longest of the three.


	18. Team Dextro vs Primates

Kasumi heard the commotion, so she locked her door. After a few minutes, though, it stopped. She heard a knock at her door.

"Kasumi? It's Garrus!"

"Whatcha want Scarface?" She giggled.

"Just a little chat, in private."

"You know I'm not into scars!"

Facepalming into his claws, he retorted, "Really, it's nothing about me."

_Oh, so he was eavesdropping? Two can play at this game; Her grin grew wider as she pulled up a report on her omnitool about a certain Chloe Michel. _Unlocking the door, she replied, "Fine, come on in!"

The turian had a grateful expression, and surprisingly, did not acquire any more alcoholic beverages before sitting down. "So, did you hear about the fight?"

Kasumi's grin immediately faded to a look of worry, "I heard some loud noises, who fought?"

Garrus chuckled and replied, "Tali fought the newest krogan recruit."

She got up to go check on her new friend, but Garrus held a hand up, "Don't worry, both of them are fine. She got a knife under his head plate."

"TALI BEAT A KROGAN? HOW?"

His grin grew a bit wider, "Hmm, well, EDI can you show Kasumi a quick view into the med bay?"

"Access to the medical facilities monitoring is restricted"

"Okay, fine. At least show her a picture!"

"That is acceptable." The synthetic replied, with a small hint of amusement.

Garrus watched Kasumi pull open the new file._ Aww! She looks so tiny!_ Her worried look switched to her normal grin. "So, anything you want to tell me?"

Her grin did not fade, and actually grew a bit wider. "Yup!"

Garrus rested his shoulders with a grin of his own, but it lasted only a few seconds into her reply.

"So, if Tali can date a human...I found a certain doctor who's dying to see you!"

Scratching the back of his neck now, Garrus stuttered, "I uh...I don't know what you're talking about"

"Really Garrus?" The use of his first name surprised the turian, and his eyes grew slighty wider. "I guess I can tell poor Dr. Michel you don't want to see her..."

"I..how?" Apparently Kasumi had a knack with causing dextro-based species to fumble over her words.

"You're worse than TALI! Four years, and you haven't made a move?"

"Well...You see I've always been busy..uh...killing. She does the opposite." His own weak excuse stunned him. _Well damn, it doesn't seem to be a problem. If little shy Tali can do it..._During his self contemplation, he had not noticed Kasumi typing into her omnitool.

"Well, you know I just told her you were on board the Normandy, safe and sound."

"What'd she say?" He replied a bit too quickly, causing the theif to smirk.

"She wants to see you next time you're at the Citadel silly!"

"Wait, how'd you even talk to-"

"Garrus, I'm a theif. It's my job to snoop into other people's business! But since you're not interested, I guess I'll have to tell her that you're busy and-"

"WAIT" He frantically begged.

"Oh?" Her coy attitude was definitely getting the poor man flustered.

"I... I'll tell her that I want to see her... Just let me do it, okay?"

Satisfied with her handiwork, yet again, she sent him her new contact info. "Here ya go! Don't take too long Scarface!"

"Yeah yeah..." He started to walk towards the door, but turned before he left. His right talon mysteriously found itself behind his neck scratchig a non-existant itch. "Uh, Kasumi?"

She looked up from the book she had just opened, "Yeah?"

"Thanks" And he quickly scurried off, embarrassed at any rebuttal.

The young theif was rather proud of herself. _Hehe, maybe I should switch to an interspecies relationship counselor!_ But the sudden revelations by her two dextro companions brought out a wound in her own heart; she went over to her desk, picked up the graybox, and activated it. Sifting through her memories of her dearly beloved, a small tear trickled down her cheek.

They were twenty minutes away from arriving at Purgatory, the notorius prison ship ran by the Blue Suns organization. It had taken half a day to travel from Haestrom. Dr. Chakwas was in the med bay; both Tali and Aj had been asleep the entire time, unsurprisingly. Her omnitool started blinking, and when she opened it, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Aj was regaining conciousness. "Commander, Aj is waking up if you'd like to speak with him." She whispered.

A few minutes later, Shepard walked in already wearing his N-7 armor even though this mission shouldn't include combat. The doctor smiled and said, "I'll take him off the sedatives, give him a few minutes." She forwarded him her medical scans and exited.

The commander brought up a chair beside Tali's, and gently shook her shoulders. "Hey Tali, wake up." After a few more shakes and a repeat, her silver eyes started to show behind her visor.

She opened her eyes to see Aj was still asleep, but someone was talking to her. Lifting her body, she saw her commander, and blushed uncontrollably at the position she had been caught in. She quickly removed her hand from his and sat straight, nervously wringing her hands. "I...Shepard? Uh, is something wrong? I didn't mean to-" but he lifted his hand, quickly stopping her nervous rambling.

_She's fine attacking a krogan, but catch her with something personal and she's nervous as can be. Good to have the old Tali back._ His uncontrolled smile did not go unnoticed by the young quarian who's hands did not abate from squirming.

"I...just wanted to make sure...he was safe!"She stammered

"Mhm" He shot her a knowing eyebrow and grin, which caused another brief warming of her cheeks. "Anyway, I'm about to go on a mission to pick up a new recruit, but I wanted to talk to your _frieeeend_ beforehand." He punched in his omnitool to give the man a small dose of stimulants.

_She could only manage to nod her head. Oh keelah, what am I going to tell him. 'Hey, I uh, want to bond with you, I already started the path a while back, you interested?' Oh no... Oh keelah no...Hes going to think I'm a pervert, or a freak, or...or... A filthy alien...a quarian...she sighed._

"You haven't told him, have you?" Shepard proclaimed, noticing her sigh.

"W..what do...tell him..what?" When his questioning look did not fade, she looked down at her dancing hands. "No..." She whispered.

He grasped her shoulder and met her eyes, smiling, "Wait outside, not that I don't mind you listening, but I need his attention." He smirked at the girl's gasp, and she reluctantly left the room. He sealed the door behind him to prevent any interrutptions. After less than a minute, Aj woke up.

Aj woke up from his peaceful yet dreamless sleep to a vaguely familiar face. "Commander? Where am I?" But his mind quickly went back to her. "Is Tali okay?" He hoped he had not been dreaming earlier.

"Relax, you're both okay. You're on my ship, the Normandy"

Visibly relaxing, he asked, "So... what do you need?"

"Well I wanted to know for sure if you wanted to join my squad. And yes, Tali wants to join too. We're stopping those abductions like on Freedom's Progress, they're called the Collectors if you remember."

"Yeah I remember, but I'm stationed on the Neema? I'd be abandon-"

He held up his hand and interrupted, "Don't worry, Admiral Zorah sent me a message approving both of your temporary transfers under my command until the mission is complete."

"Well, in that case, sure." He looked around at the medical equipment; this time, there were no tubes in his nose or ears. "But, what happened really?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. You shot a bolt of lightining at the Collosus and fried its head off, but...Well you were in pretty bad condition. A few arteries in your head started to leak uncontrollably."

"I feel fine though, a small headache, but nothing serious"

"Yeah, well we have a salarian doctor named Dr. Mordin Solus, he's a phenomenol miracle worker." He pulled up his scans and focused on the cranium. "You should be good to go, but no combat for a couple of days. They stopped the swelling, and your body should be recovering its own blood supply. So, they told me that you should have a bit bigger portions for the next week just to be sure."

"That's great!" The sudden jolt of excitement caused a small hurt on his front sinus, drawing a frown from the commander.

"That's why you need to wait a few days; we picked up your weapons, and Jacob, the head of our armory, probaly has them packing a stronger punch than before." He looked at a small terminal in the corner, "EDI?"

A smal blue sphere appeared, "Yes commander?"

"Please give Aj a tour of our ship, along with Tali, when he's back on his feet."

"Yes commander."

"Who's.. Eadie?"

"She's the ship's AI"

_He remembered the geth, they were AI's... they were monsters... killing everyone, genocidal beasts... but they could talk to him. The orders...about Shepard? Could it be?_

"Uh, EDI? Did you send me some orders on the battlefield about the courtyard and Shepard?" Shepard looked at him with a confused, and slightly worried look. As if he was crazy or hearing things or...

"I relayed the entire mission objectives directly to you. You emit a signature which I can contact, but it is unique."

Shepard looked at the man on the bed, "So, you actually got those?"

He looked at the terminal, "Kind of, whatever you sent was a bit much. I don't think I'm as fast as a computer." _When in Rome, live like the Romans?_

"I apologize. Perhaps with you on board we might be able to find a suitable means of direct communication. I am...anxious...at this opportunity, if the commander will allow it." The synthetic seemed actually excited to have another inorganic interface, albeit not fully as capable as herself.

"Yeah sure EDI, just don't give him another aneurysm" He smirked.

"So, have you told Tali? I doubt she'll be excited about uh... her? No offence EDI"

"None taken" The orb quipped.

Shepard looked at him with an amused look. "I tried to tell her, but she was a bit more focused on you. You were in pretty rough shape, it's only been twelve hours, you know."

"Sorry... I don't know what came over me...just the wall...and screaming. Sorry" He sulked into the bed.

Glancing at the hologram, he retorted, "Well, hopefully she'll understand, EDI has been extremely helpful so far, and she's had many chances to kill us. Hell, she even ran your equipment when the doctors were busy." He looked back at Aj. "Now, listen to Dr. Chakwas or Dr. Solus, they know what they're doing. And yes, they know of your specific abilities, along with your condition. Now, I think there's someone who wants to see you." He ended the conversation with a smile, and opened up his omnitool and headed for the exit.

Tali saw Shepard leaving the room, and started bouncing on her toes from the mess table. She was rather excited to see him, albeit extremely nervous. He motioned for her to come in, and left for the elevator.

Aj was expecting another doctor, or another teammate, but when a female quarian popped through the door, he couldnt supress his grin. "I'm really glad you're s-" but he was cut off by said quarian sprinting and embracing his still lying form.

"Aj, I'm fine! But you... you were hurt bad.. why? Why you bosh'tet!" Her voice cracked, and conveyed both anger and relief somehow simoultaneously.

"I'm sorry... It's just... the wall broke, and we couldn't... it would have... I'm sorry Tali..." he stammered.

She released the embrace and took his hand in hers, taking a seat beside him. "Don't... don't do that anymore. I was so worried. You nearly di-"

"Tali." He interrupted. "I'm okay."

"I know but Aj, keelah, you were lying in your own blood... they thought you were dead! " She started to tear a little bit, but supressed it when he squeezed her hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're safe." _Just tell her you idiot, now is the perfect time._ He glanced at her hand. It wasn't a perfect fit, but three suited digits were intertwined with his own. "Tali..."

She noticed his hesitation and looked where he was looking. _ Oh...oh keelah...I..._ She looked down, and began to pull away, but...he stopped her?

He saw her look at their hands, and look down at her knees, almost as if in shame? She started to pull away. _DAMNIT JUST TELL HER... The worst thing she can say is no... this is...a lot harder than I..._ He griped her hand tighter, and she looked up in surprise.

"I just wanted to talk to you..." He spoke, barely above a whisper, but she interrupted.

"Aj... I... I'm sorry... I wanted to tell you...but...I couldn't!" He heard her sniffle. "You... you lost someone...and I know... I-" But she stopped when he put his other hand around both of theirs.

"Tali, what happened, it hurt. More than you could ever imagine. I..don't wish it to my worst enemy. But you were there for me, when nobody else was. Hell, if it wasn't for you, I'd still be floating in space." _Just...tell...her..._

She looked at their hands, and felt even worse. _He's trying to comfort me, even if he doesn't know... Keelah...humans are so touchy...but I ...he needs to know...but now...there are human women here. He'll... he'll find..someone...he could easily...he's handsome...smart..._She looked up and decided to tell him anyway, a heart broken is better than a life of regret, but he continued.

"Tali, I...I care about you. A lot... I never expected to find anyone... especially so soon after...but that isn't the point." Her eyes met his, almost expectantly.

_Wh...what? He...he cares about...me? Her heart skipped all three beats for a moment._ She looked up to see a smiling face, but it had a hint of regret. _ She heard the 'but' and prepared for the inevitable excuse, anything really. She would...understand his refusal. Her heart wasn't important any-_

"But Kal told me quarians...you don't...you can't..._Just say it..._ He paused, unable to break contact with her shimmering eyes. "You'd never...care for, or be with...a human" He broke the eye contact and stared at his overlapping hands, expecting hers to immediately pull away. To his surprise, her other hand came on top of his.

"Aj...you don't have to lie... I understand...you need time...and I...I'm just a quarian...you could do better, be with some-"

_Was she putting herself down? I know people are racist against her kind...but...she didn't say no...some things are worst fighting for._

"Damnit Tali!" He looked back into her eyes, but not with anger, but with care. "Stop... I don't care that you're quarian. I just don't know how else to tell you. I think I'm in love with you."

He heard a small sniffle, and she glanced momentarily at their hands, and back at him. She lifted up her omnitool, and pushed a few buttons. "Wh...what are you doing?" He was suddenly nervous, he had just risked his closest friendship for an impos- but stopped, eyes wide.

_He...loves...me? But...why...how...wh-._ There was only one way she thought she could respond. She typed into her omnitool, started her antibiotics, and set the room to sterilize. She reached behind her visor. A small hiss, a terrifying sound to her, but one what needed to be heard. He had to know. She put her visor on the table, unable to meet his eyes. She started to tear. _Now... the first person to see me... he'll be disgusted, and regret even knowing me. Please...ancestors...don't let him break my heart...please..._

He saw her hands, and heard a hiss. The visor was in her hands, her eyes shut, tears streaming down her lavender cheeks. She looked...very human...but there were dark lines on her neck, up to her cheeks. Her nose and lips were smaller than human girls'. He saw a wisp of jet black hair, and no eyebrows. She opened her eyes, and met his without a visor for the first time. She was beautiful, but crying?

"Why are you crying?" He whispered; without thinking he slowly took his right hand and wiped the tears away, then cupped her cheek. Her skin was rough, almost like leather, but soft, much like a newborn.

"Because.. now...you see me.." She looked at him, he was expressionless, still in shock at seeing his first quarian face.

"And you're more beautiful than I could have ever imagined" He replied, switching his face into a true smile.

Apparently that was not what she was expecting, as her eyes got wide, the tears had stopped. They were silent for a moment, but she had decided something important. _I think... there might be a ch-" But she was cut off by his movement._

As soon as he said that, he sat up, using most of his energy. With the last ounce, however, he leaned forward, took his hands away from her face and intertwined by the bed, and embraced her. His lips met hers, her first kiss. A kiss which expressed all the feelings both had for each other, passion, love, care, comfort, all in one small motion. One loving expression, not so human as one may think, to show how much she meant to him.

He pulled away from the small kiss, and just stared into her eyes. "Tali, I love you."

"Aj..."She whispered. "I love you too." And she leaned in for another, before putting on her mask. After she put it back on, she embraced him. _ I...don't...think...I've ever...been this...happy.. she smiled inside her mask._

As he was hugging her, he thought only one thing. _I have a second chance...and I'll be damned if I'm going to lose her._

Unfortunatly, EDI, who had highly restricted visual or audio monitoring devices in the medical facility, broke the loving scene. "Docking with the Purgatory. The airlock will be accessible momentarily."

"Uh, thanks" An extremely embarrassed Tali replied, "Who are you?"

The blue hologram reappeared. "I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence, the crew likes to refer to me as EDI."

_AN AI! ON THE SHIP! BUT... THE GETH! _She was trembling in Aj's arms, but he began to speak.

"Tali, who do you think shot the geth cruiser down?" He interjected. Before she could respond, he continued, "She sent me orders directly from the commander; I doubt we would have survived honestly without her. Besides, you told me Shepard always was a unique fellow, don't you say?"

"Aj. AI's kill us, organics. They...they always do."

"So, why are we still alive? Couldn't it have already cut off life support?"

Sighing to herself, and still extremely uncomfortable, she decided to let the issue rest. "Fine...I really do trust Shepard, but this is just... crazy. Having an AI in control of the ship?"

EDI, who had remained quiet, added, "Tali'Zorah, I understand your distrust, but I assure you, the only reason I could control the weapons was because Joker, the pilot, allowed it. I have minimal control of the systems, I merely report and aid as necessary."

Slightly reassured, she relaxed, still in his arms. The quiet was broken by a snicker from the human, "What's so funny bosh'tet, I'm still nervous it's an AI..."

"No no, it's not that. It's what you said about Shepard."

"That I trust him?" She asked unable to find anything remotely humerous, albeit her confusion only caused him to laugh again. "What?"

"Just something I told your father. Kal told me how close I was to seeing an airlock"

Suddenly extremely alarmed, she released the embrace, but remained closeby. "Wh...what did you tell him?"

"Well, I told him I trusted you with the air I breathe..." He trailed off with a grin.

He grinned as the young quarian stood in absolute shock, or horror, or anger, or most likely, a combination of the three.

"Don't worry, I explained everything. I wasn't uh... aware...of what that meant until later. Want to look around our new ship?"


	19. A Lovely Trip to Prison

In order to stay as canon as possible, I did not want Tali in any battle scenes before Horizon.

The ship monitoring had to wait. Tali basically forced him to tell her exactly how her father reacted, and seemed satisfied that the admiral did not suspect anything. _Keelah, now he really is going to try to throw him out an airlock..._ She smiled though when he told her of his pre-battle conversation, and they finally decided to leave. As they exited the med bay, EDI informed them that Grunt, Miranda, and Shepard were onboard the Purgatory to retrieve another crew member.

"Uh... EDI?" Tali was still uncomfortable with the AI, but she was still alive. That had to count for something. "Where is Garrus?"

"Garrus is located at the forward batteries" She replied. Afterwards, Aj heard, 'take a right, and follow the long hallway which ends in a door.'

"Got it EDI, thanks." He grabbed Tali's hand and walked towards the directions given. Thankfully, given the time, the only person present at the mess hall was Rupert, and he was too busy cleaning dishes to notice the gesture.

Before he could tug her down the hallway, however, Tali asked, "And how do you know where that is? You've been asleep!"

"Uh? Didn't you hear? EDI told us to the right and down the hall ending in a door." If he could have seen Tali's expression, it would have been rather amusing.

"She didn't say that Aj"

Again, the omnipresent computer came to save the day, "I attempted to directly relay the information to him, Miss Zorah. I apologize for the confusion, but I could not help trying. I sent a very small amount of data."

_Huh, why the hell not? Aj focused for a moment, and said in his head. 'Thanks EDI, uh, is this working?'_

_He heard a quick reply, 'Yes, your specific channel is one I have not encountered before, but I have compensated. I will not abuse this new find. Thank you for allowing me to interact. It is very... enlightening.'_

_He decided that if an AI could be cordial, it had to at least care for his life. He focused again on chatting without moving his lips. 'EDI, I managed to interface directly with a YMIR mech. If you promise to be careful, I'd be willing to do the same with you. I was able to see through it's optic sensor, and even...feel... it's arms and legs.'_

_Again, the artificial intelligence was hesitant, rare for her kind. 'I would be interested in that, Aj. I'm currently testing your capacity. Before doing what you suggested, I would like to interact more to know your limits. I do not wish to harm any crewmembers.'_

_'Okay EDI, thanks for everything. I never thought I'd be talking to a friendly AI honestly. Also, please, don't show anyone Tali's face. I don't know if you saw, but she was extremely nervous.'_

_'I did manage to see her face, and I have just deleted all images and audio logs from Commader Shepard's departure to your departure. I apologize for the intrusion.'_

_'No harm, no foul. Well, my head's aching, we'll practice later!'_

_'Of course, Aj.'_

As soon as EDI spoke, Tali looked at Aj; however, he had closed his eyes and looked like he was concentrating. After less than a few seconds, he opened his eyes to see the quarian staring at him like he grew a second head. "Why'd you stop?" She asked.

"Oh, just getting to know EDI. She seems to be a decent synthetic." He replied smiling.

She sighed in either defeat or slight frustration. "Keelah... fine. Uh, did she... uh... see...me?" Her nervous demeanor rose back up.

Before EDI spoke, however, he lied, kind of..."Nope, EDI has absolutely no pictures of your face, right EDI?"

"That is correct Aj" The computer had deduced all the possible ways of revealing the truth without having an angry crew member, but was as grateful as a synthetic could be for the lie of omission.

He tugged at her hand and approached the door leading to the batteries, letting go as they approached. When it opened, they saw the back of an armored turian doing something so invigorating, so exciting, so absolutely amazing, that one word could barely comprehend the magnitude of its glory. He was calibrating.

Garrus turned around to see one of his best friends and a very tall human he knew little about. The human, however, stook out his hand for a shake.

"You're Garrus right? Nice to meet you" The turian shook his hand, albeit a little awkwardly, as he was not used to a human hand being bigger than his.

"You too, I'm surprised your up. Hell, this is a crazy mission. I get a rocket to the face, and you shoot a bolt of lightining, can't wait to see what's next." He looked over at Tali and stook out his hand also, "It's nice to see-" but was cut short due to lack of air thanks to a high pressure hug. Quarians were rather powerful for being so slender.

"You took a rocket to the face Garrus?" She said after releasing the hug.

He uncontrollably rose up his hand to his scarred mandible and softly stroked it. "Yeah, it wasn't pretty. But Shepard's doctors are pretty good. There's something I have to ask you two though." The way he said the last words immediately caused Aj's eyebrows to rise in question.

"So uhm... you two...are you uh, together?" Garrus hesitantly asked.

Aj grabbed Tali's right hand with his before they undoubtedly began another wringing frenzy. "Well yeah, but how did you know?" Inside, Tali smiled at the fact he wasn't ashamed of her.

"Well, uhm" He decided to leave out his intrusion with Shepard. "Not many other things make a girl willingly tackle a krogan."

He turned at the quarian with a look of shock and awe, who released his hand and began squirming her fingers...yet again. "I thought he was going to attack you or something." She weakly replied.

"Wow... remind me not to piss you off." Aj joked earning a giggle and a playful slap to his shoulder.

"Speaking of that, Tali, want to continue our discussions? I know this isn't as homey as the elevators but-"

"No."

"C'mon, your boyfriend will love to hear the fascinating tales o-"

Doing her best to hide her blushing at the human's new position as her 'boyfriend' -she had never had one before- she snidely jibed, "Do you want your 'good' mandible to have an unfortunate accident? Hmm? Perhaps 'accidently' giving you matching scars?" She teased. "Remember, I still have Chiktikka vas Paus!

"Fine fine!" He waved her off. "Anyways, I've got to get back to work. Nice to meet you, and uh... keep your lightining bolts in check too."

They exited the door and Aj grasped her hand again._ You know, it's not that awkward once you get used to it, he thought when he glanced at the strange conglomerate of digits._

"Oh Aj, you have to meet Kasumi next!" She tugged his hand past the mess hall. Unfortunately a few crewmen had seen them run by, specifially the hands together, and snickered. Ignoring them, he followed Tali to the Port Observation Deck.

He opened the door to see a teary-eyed small girl with a strange blue holographic strip above her eyes. The girl seemed to notice the intrusion and immediately turned off whatever was powering the device. Her gaze went down to their clasped hands and a big grin plastered her face.

"Hey it's the Normandy's newest interspecies couple!" She got up and bowed, "I'm Kasumi, you're Aj right?" Her accent and bow were incredibly familiar...her name... it clicked. She was Japanese!

"Konnichiwa Kasumi!" He replied with a bow of his own. "Ogenki desu ka?" (Hello. How are you?) causing the young woman's grin to grow ever so slightly wider. Thankfully Tali's software caught the meaning, but she did notice the slight change of his voice.

"You know Japanese? But you don't look like an Asian?" Her slightly rude assumption caused her to put her hand over her mouth, but he interjected before she could apologize.

"I only know a little" Hesitantly, he added, "Someone... I cared about...was Japanese. Her name was Harumi." For some reason though, the name wasn't making him very sad, and he looked at the reason why. With a big smile, he hugged the girl beside him.

Kasumi noticed the hesitation, and the past tense, so she decided to drop it. "Oh well, that's interesting! So what can I do for you, or did you want someone to take a picture of you two hugging" She added with a grin.

Sheepishly they released their embrace and looked back at her, "No, nothing. I'm just getting to know the crew. I'll be helping Shepard along with Tali on this mission."

"She's the crew's favorite theif!" Tali wisecracked.

"Well, you'll get used to seeing my quarters" She added with a grin, but noticed a slight discomfort and Tali regrabbing his hand. "Not for anything naughty, gosh! You both are worse than Scarface! No, my room has the bar!"

He looked to his left seeing the beautiful sight of bottles of various sizes, shapes, and colors, undoubtedly nefarious origins. He grinned like a baffoon and began to walk to snag some but a strong three-fingered hand squeezed his. Turning, he did not need to see her face to know she did not approve of his sudden thirst. He sighed and stopped his motion.

The antics were not unnoticed by the theif, who giggled, "Glad to see you know your place Aj. Women rule this ship!"

A synthetic voice popped over the scene, "As everyone has designated me as a feminine presence, I do believe I agree with her sentiment"

Kasumi took the interjection in stride, "See? You can't argue with an AI ! She's got the logic hehe!"

"Well, she can't be that bad I guess. And yup, so now that you know who's the boss primate, I believe we should go check upstairs." Tali's sarcastic voice did not mean she was going to take no for an answer.

"Man EDI, I thought we were friends" He pouted, but quickly went back to a grin. "It was nice to meet you Kasumi!" He waved as a certain empowered quarian dragged him to the elevator, pressing deck 4.

"On deck two, there's the scientist salarian, Dr. Solus, and Jacob. But Shepard told me engineering was on deck four; they can wait!" She happily squeaked as the elevator began its descent.

"So, this slow ass elevator is really the only way to get around?"

"Well, the first one was even slower!"

"So, want to enlighten me on the fabulous conversations Garrus ment-"

"You bosh'tet! Later, maybe, if you're good." The elevator opened revealing a terminal with a large cargo bay outside the windows. They turned left and saw a door immediately beside the elevator. Opening it, they were treated to the sound of two arguing engineers.

"Ay lass, you dunno what a good haggis tastes like, do ya?" A scottish voice asked.

"Who cares? Who wants to eat sheep organs, yuck!" A feminine voice answered.

"Well, you never know till ya try it dontcha know?"

"Yeah sure, that's what the first human said when he tried turian ale. We all know how that turned out." Aj could not help but laughing, and the conversation ahead stopped. The pair walked in to see two people nervously looking at them, likely embarrassed.

"Hello, I'm Aj, and this is Tali." He mentioned.

The female found her voice. "Oh Tali! Shepard said you're our new chief engineer!" She ended with a smile. "And Aj, I heard you were hurt in the fight, good to see your okay. My name is Gabriella Daniels, but everyone calls me Gabby" She ended with a smile.

"Ah, well I'm Kenneth Donnelly, but just call me Ken." He smirked and added, "So now I gotta listen to this gal" He mentioned at Gabby and continued, "And a feisty quarian woman? I needa glass o'bourbon"

"KEN!" Gabby hissed, "You're talking to our boss!"

"Wut? Any gal who can charge a krogan has got to be a little-" But his response was cut short by a slap behind the head, causing both Aj and Tali to laugh. After regainig her composure, the new information set in.

"So... I'm Chief Engineer now?" Tali hesitantly asked.

"Yup! Shepard told us you were an expert! Not just because you're quarian I mean!" Gabby commented.

"Oh, well okay." She turned to Aj. "I have to get to work I guess, but thanks for coming down!" She gave him a hug, which he returned. "I'll see you later!" She reluctantly let go of her new boyfriend, the term which still caused her to feel slightly excited. Unfortunately, the engineers noticed the hug lasted a little longer than just a friendly seperation.

Aj walked up to the elevator, but overheard one last scottish remark, "So Tali, you got a thing with the-" but a slightly audible smack ended his remark. An undistinguishable feminine retort was heard before the elevator doors closed. He was headed to deck two.

Tali had just gotten to her terminal when Ken began his rude remark. "Kenneth you pig! Leave them alone!" Gabby ordered after smacking his head.

"Fine fine! Gosh, I was just making a wee bit of small talk, no need to be so violent." He remarked, which caused the young quarian to giggle. She decided to spill the beans to prevent further head injuries to the poor man.

"Yes, Aj is my boyfriend. Happy now?" Her sudden burst of bravado was short lived, as the wide-eyed open-mouthed stares of the other two caused her fingers to wring mercilessly.

"I've never heard of one of us dating a quarian" Gabby nervously responded while Ken just grinned and got back to work. "Uh nothing against you, I mean just that. Oh I don't know, but you look cute together!" She again ended with a smile.

"Th...thank you. And don't worry, I think.. I think I'm the first. You people were too busy climbing trees than working on space travel" She teased, causing both engieneers to turn at the woman, who felt nervous for a moment, before all were bursting out in laughter.

"The new lady's got some fire ay Gabby?" Ken remarked before again getting back to his work.

She elbowed his ribs playfully, "Good, we need someone to help me keep you in line!"

Tali felt surprisingly comfortable around these two Cerberus engineers, they didn't seem xenophobic at least. She was still planning on verbally assaulting the commander for not mentioning the AI, but she happily got to work on the new improved Normandy. _Nobody can get a ship to peak efficiency like a quarian, she grinned to herself._

Aj went up to the armory first, but Jacob was too busy fixing up some guns to really get past the formalities. He decided to pay a visit to one of the people who saved his life. _Plus, I've never met a salarian in person, he thought._

Upon opening the door, he saw the doctor facing away from him muttering.

"Scale-itch? Sexually transmitted through varren. Need to speak to whoever-" But was interrupted when Aj cleared his throat. Turning, he saw the human and smiled raising his omnitool, "Already moving? Healing fast. Still, suggest minimal strenuous activity for the next two days." Putting down his tool, he asked, "Need me for something?"

"Well" He began, "First, I personally wanted to thank you for saving my life."He stuck out his hand, which the salarian quickly shook. "And, I understand you're the resident genius on the ship?"

Mordin chuckled a little and replied, "I do not like to 'blow my horn' as your kind says, but I am proud to say I am an expert in all fields biology, with a decent understanding of technological concepts. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Aj thought for a moment..._Well, every good scientist could use an assistant, and I think I can learn a lot from this guy..._"I don't know if I'm as smart as you, but I was considered a savant in human standards. I thought maybe you could use an assistant. I'm no expert in biology, but I learn fast."

Mordin's look went from thoughtful to a grin and he replied, "Of course, currently researching Collector swarm. Finding a way to stop detection." He motioned over to a small box with a strange floating insectoid-looking organism in it.

The next couple of hours for Aj were a near constant stream of information. Even as a savant, it was difficult to grasp everything the doctor was saying, from nanobiological targetting agents to possible technological disruption techniques. However, he did feel like he was being helpful, and even proposed scrambling their sensors with targetted heat destabilization techniques. _Guess that degree was helpful after all..._

Two hours earlier...

Shepard, Grunt, and Miranda had just passed a sick bastard beating a defenseless prisoner, which he had convinced to stop at least. Ever since the confrontation at their entrance, he had felt uneasy; he was thankful to have a powerful warrior and a well-trained operative. Although he brought her on board more for her official credentials, her biotics were far from a push-over.

When they reached their target room, a voice boomed over the intercom. "I'm sorry Shepard, but you're too valuable to just let go. Step into the room and you won't be harmed.

"Fuck you", he replied laughing and unholstering his new Revenant. He was very impressed by Aj's weapon and decided to start using one himself. Grunt seemed to approve with a grin of his own, while Miranda rolled her eyes and got out her Locust.

Grunt was about to get out his Eviscerator when Shepard said, "Grunt, I bet you like to blow shit up, right?" After a reassuring widening of the krogan's toothy maw, he handed the young warrior his grenade launcher. "Just try not to hit me or Miranda" he added with a chuckle.

Shepard's gesture was quickly rewarded when the first wave of Blue Sun's combatants were the first individuals to experience a lobbed shot into their group. The survivors were quickly mopped up by the human's heavy, albeit more accurate, fire.

The group quickly dispatched the small armada around the left corner before arriving at a control panel. A technician had just enough time to turn around before Miranda's biotic push cracked his spine against the wall.

"Okay you two, I'm releasing Jack from cryogenic storage. Weapons ready" Though the last part was slightly unnecessary.

He pushed a few buttons, and saw a steaming cylinder lift from the ground. A barely clothed and heavily tattooed female popped up.

"Jack's a woman?" He incrediously questioned. Before he could respond, the female angrily surged from her location, glowing blue, and charged into a few YMIR mechs.

The team sprinted downstairs wordlessly. When the door opened, they were in shock. The biotic had taken down two mechs, with the third quickly finished by Grunt's grenades.

They tried to follow her, but after a while, the trail of destruction went cold, so they continued onward. The first room was a cake walk. Mercilessly, Miranda's Locust accurately picked off targets from afar while Grunt and Shepard took down the enemies -both guards and escaping prisoners alike- at brutally close range. Even another YMIR stood no chance. Miranda sent an Overload as soon as it lumbered forward, and Grunt pelted it with grenades while Shepard sent a stream of hellfire right at its optic sensor. The lifeless mech fell to the ground within moments.

The next room was a little more difficult to pass through. There were two guards in an elevated position, but Miranda quickly shot at a nearby canister which exploded and killed them both. Shepard and Grunt hid behind cover, slowly whittling down the enemies. The next YMIR went down just as efficiently as the first, and they proceeded onwards.

The final room they entered contained a strange sight. Three odd pillars were emitting a kinetic field around a heavily armored turian, who they assumed was the prison warden from earlier.

"Damn you Shepard, I could have lived like a king. But at least I'll get the pleasure of killing you, you worthless vermin!" The warden barked.

"Miranda, take out the pylons!" Shepard ordered, which was followed without question.

A dozen more mercenaries, supposedly the highly trained bunch, emerged from a door left of the crazy prison leader. However, they could not match the firepower from a bloodraging krogan and a cybernetically enhanced super soldier. After less than a minute, two pylons were down and the hired goons were all but defeated. A well-placed grenade by Grunt caused the final pylon to fall.

A few more mercenaries again popped through the cover, and Grunt was out of ammo. The triage hid behind cover while the now unprotected warden was screaming in defiance.

"Grunt, take out your shotgun." The krogan immediately obliged, "You remember what you said about turians?"

"Yes" He replied flatly, unsure at the connections.

"Now's your chance. Me and Miranda will cover you." Grunt's grin would have scared a normal human being; luckily, neither of the two were normal by any means.

Shepard and Miranda broke the cover, and Shepard took a sniper round to the shoulder. Thankfully, his shields protected him, as the armor, and it was only a superficial wound.

"I AM KROGAN!" The enraged Grunt yelled as he charged the short distance towards the now frightened turian. Grunt climbed the small pedistal effortlessly. The warden tried to shoot him close range with his sniper, but a laugh and a punch to his chest sent him to the ground, gasping for air. The last thing Warden Kuril saw was a grinning krogan and an Eviscerator's barrel inches from his face.

After mopping up the mercs, Miranda quickly jolted to Grunt's location, where he was still admiring his work, and hacked Kuril's omnitool. She resealed all the bulkheads, but opened a direct passageway to where the Normandy was docked.

After a short sprint, with little resistance, they arrived at the area they began at. Shepard glanced below, and saw the crazy biotic getting swarmed by two YMIR mechs and countless mercenaries. Unfortunately, they had no time. There was no quick route to save her. They had to move on. The group ran to the Normandy, Miranda and Shepard's biotics smashing the last two guards into the walls, undoubtedly killing the duo.

As soon as they ran through the airlock, EDI broke contact and began to fly away, but Shepard had one last order. "Joker, fire the main gun. We can't let anyone escape." Normally Shepard was a true paragon of humanity, the manifestation of self-control, second chances, and helping the innocent. Today, however, all he saw was a disease. A group of people who were in a space prison for a reason; the guards were no better. He would have no regrets ridding the galaxy of this plague.

"Understood commander" The pilot replied, unsure at the drastic order. EDI had hacked into the ship's network and deactivated the shielding. The ship was by all means a sitting duck.

The stream of molten metal what escaped the Normandy sliced right through the now unshielded Purgatory, severing the area they had just been in from most of the ship. Another well-placed shot caused the larger housing half to explode.

The mission was a success and a failure. No longer could any of those scum ever threaten a human being, that was a positive outcome. Subject Zero, Jack, was terminated in the explosion. The recruitment aspect was a failure. Two hours had been wasted trying to recover the lady.

Shepard was angry, but decided to give the Illusive Man the benefit of the doubt; it seemed more Kuril's doing anyway. He headed to the QEC to break the news.

Sorry to all those Jack-lovers out there! I feel my OC would be a good replacement for her unique childhood unpleasantries and such, as well as nearly uncontrollable power.


	20. Before the Storm

"Mordin, I think we did it!" Aj happily exclaimed as the creature did not even register the object tested. His head was throbbing slightly. Whether from the injuries, a hyperactive salarian, or both was not of real importance.

"Yes, yes. Limited success, would work for small concentrations. Film from Freedom's Progress shows a low amount in respect to maximum possibilities. Should work! Forwarding results to the commander right now."

_Suddenly excited about his work, he remembered one thing that he always used to celebrate._ "Uh, Mordin, I've got a small problem, and I think you may know how to help."

The scientist took his face away from the data readings and looked at him quizzically, expecting an in-depth perusal into the topic at hand. He would be mistaken.

"Do you know where I can get a hold of cannabis?"

The man stared at him for a moment before scanning the human, "Cannabis? Old Earth herbal supplement, most common for elderly human or asari patients who are unable to consume enough food. Are you having trouble with your prescribed higher intake of calories?"

_Hell, are you serious? Well, it sure would help._ "Yeah, and well, I've used it before. I know it works. I'd be more comfortable with it than another appetite stimulant."

The doctor seemed to be weighing his options for a moment, but then lifted his omnitool and punched in a few things, "Requisitioned thirty grams worth of the supplement. It will arrive in approximately 6 hours with the other medical and research equipment I asked for. Should be more than enough."

"Okay, but how can I take it? I mean, I'm not really a good cook. In my time, we smoked it." _Shit... he's never going to beli-_

The doctor again looked at him strangely and looked in the back corner of the room, where he grabbed a strange looking device. It looked like an old genie lamp, but it had a long straw coming from one end. "Recommend oral ingestion through a tea or culinary creations with an oil-based medium. However, this device is used for treating drell patients with Keplar's Syndrome. Similar to your preffered intake method, although different supplement. Dry air along with a small amount of smoke actually aids the discomfort, although it does not fully cure the problem." Mordin looked a bit displeased at the last part, but handed him the strange device.

"Thanks doc, I'll go find my quarters." He took a long look at the device. It was a light blue color, and was only about the size of two fists side by side. The straw-like end was a decent centimeter diamater, while the area where drell put whatever they put in there was the size of a quarter. He was about to leave the area when the ship suddenly shook loudly. "What the hell was that?"

Mordin didn't seem at all phased by the sudden vibrations. "Thanix cannon, shot twice. Will get used to it."

He was walking to the elevator, he was more focused on the device while grinning than anything in front of him. His slight digression from focus caused him to nearly run into a disgruntled commander. He quickly held up his hands in mock surrender.

Shepard looked directly at the odd device in his right hand, "What the hell is that?" His voice took a slightly amused tone.

"Just a device for uh, my lungs, Mordin let me use it. Actually, maybe I'll show you someday." He ended with a smirk. The commander looked at it, then at him, and shrugged.

"We'll see, but I've got to talk to the boss; by the way, since you're so inclined to be around a certain quarian" The commander grinned at the satisfaction of seeing Aj blush slightly, "there's a space downstairs from the engine room currenty not in use, you're more than welcome to take them as your quarters. It's a bit less illuminated than most of the ship, but it's still a free space. There's already a cot down there for whoever claims it first. Gotta run"

_Huh, a spot below Tali. Sounds good to me!_ The commander headed around to the Mordin's room for an odd reason, and Aj headed down the elevator to see said quarian.

"Commander, I have received the report on the Purgatory situation; although it is an unfortunate setback, I believe the next individuals I am looking at will make up for the loss."

"Well, that's good news, the warden tried to get a little greedy; we dealt with him accordingly. But you sent this on priority Alpha, what's up?"

"A colony on Horizon just went silent as you were onboard, I do believe it is the beginning before another targetted attack. Has Dr. Solus come up with a solution?"

"Actually yes, he forwarded me the results not too long ago. He and Aj found a way to scramble the swarm's thermal sensors."

"Excellent work. I'm glad to see your newest addition has found a useful job, we will need all the minds we can get. I do believe you need to know, your former teammate, Ashley, is stationed on the scene."

_The commander's eyes quickly widened at the scene; momentarily forgetting the Illusive Man, he barked to the omnipresent AI. "EDI, tell Joker to head to Horizon immediately!"_

_"Yes commander"_

He looked back up at the man with the strange eyes, "Anything else?"

"I see you haven't forwarded me the scans on your new recruit, and I'd like to know why." Surprisingly his tone did not show any spite or frustration, more of geniune curiosity.

"Well, when he used his uh.. powers? He experienced a severe brain aneurysm. I would like Mordin to correct and maybe even improve his condition before releasing it to anyone. If anyone can do it, that salarian can."

"I can see your logic, hopefully you are right. Back to the more important matters, however. While you investigate the colony, I'll continue on the other recruits as well as Vido. This is our first chance to take action before they raid the entire settlement. If anyone can stop these monsters, you will be the one. I brought you back, but this is your fight, and I have no doubt that you will succeed. Good luck commander." He cut the link.

The commander walked to the elevator, which was coming up mysteriously from deck four. _Boy, I wonder who that was going dow there? _He smiled, but thought back to what the Illusive Man had told him. "EDI, please restrict all unnecessary intrusions into my room until we're thirty minutes away from Horizon."

"Understood commander, eta is approximately four hours"

_Goddamnit, if those bastards get Ashley..._ but he did his best to stop worrying about the situation. Honestly, he was more scared she didn't care for him anymore than her ability to survive a tough combat situation. _What'd Wrex call her? A krogan in a costume? _Just imagening a krogan attempting to fit into her combat gear caused him to smile weakly. 'Worrying doesn't take the problems away from tomorrow, only the peace from today' a wise man once said. The commander went to rest, and eventually succeeded into a nightmarish sleep, reliving the atrocities which happened on Akuze.

Aj went down the elevator to engineering, and decided to check out his new quarters before sneaking up on his girlfriend. _Huh... girlfriend...feels like forever since I've said that...especially an alien girlfriend._ Quickly scampering down the stairs before he was known, he found his little hidey-hole. It wasn't too bad, just a little crowded like the Neema. Considering it was underneath so much vital equipment, he was surprised at how quiet it was. The cot was barely long enough to cover his frame, but seemed wide enough to accomidate him and then so-_...Shepard you sneaky little bastard! _He noticed the cot was actually two side by side to form an oversized sleeping quarters. Presumptively to allow a special someone space as well. After carefully hiding his new device underneath the bed, he decided to pay a visit to a certain quarian.

He carefully walked back up the stairs making as little noise as possible. When the door opened, thankfully Ken was complaining about the new guns power draw, so he was still hidden from sound. There she was, before sneaking up on her, he couldn't help but stare at her mesmorizing frame. Two long, slender arms, a waist that would make the most petite human woman jealous, and then...well...the piece de resistance, hips what could make any man regardless of species a bit accentuated by her perfect ass, her not-so-straight knees ended at her cute long feet. He could not help but grin, even her little third toe, which he first thought was a bit scary the first time he saw it, added to her exotic beauty. He carefully snuck behind her as she was poking away at a terminal.

When he got within a few feet, he held his breath and jumped forwand,landing beside her. "Boo!"

Unfortunately, scaring a trained military quarian with powerful legs only earned him a vicious leg sweep, and he fell on his not-so-padded gluteus maximus on the floor.

"You fre'eg! I was in the middle of balancing the thrusters!" She giggled right after, though. Her voice, however, was a bit nasal.

"I couldn't help it!" He got up with a grin. _Something about her always puts me in a better mood._

"New destination, the human colony Horizon" EDI's voice broke the thought, "eta four hours, and a mission debriefing thirty minutes prior to."

"Well Tali, at least I know those legs aren't just for show" He said a bit too loudly; behind him, a scottish man was laughing while a female engineer was mildly blushing.

"Keelah, I'm bonding with an idiot" She laughed a little, but realized her word slip and her eyes got wide, looking at his reaction.

_Huh, bonding? Sounds like dating, but with that snickering haggis-lover back there we might need to talk about that. _"Are you okay? Your voice sounds a little... different."

"Oh uh... I think it's from... well..." Even without seeing her face, her fingers sudden wringing told him she was blushing.

_Oh shit, quarian immune systems; damn... and what Kal said..._He managed to fight off his own blush. "Look downstairs, Shepard got something for us."

He grabbed her hand and they walked downstairs. Tali happily ran over when she saw the cot, bouncing on her toes before she jumped on the bed. "Wait, us? Oh my... Aj... I can't uhh... get out of my suit... it's not..." She trailed off seeing his grin.

"Geez Tali that excited are you?" Noticing her lack of response he wondered for a moment if she really was. _Bonding? Oh...damn..._ After a slighly awkward pause, he gently added, "It's not for anything like that; just somewhere private, I don't mind sharing a bed with you, even if you're still in your suit. Just, it'd be nice to have you in my arms."

Her silver eyes slanted in a way he leared was a smile, and went over to sit by her. "Sorry Aj, just, this, and what happened earlier. I'm nervous." She ended with a sad undertone still keeping eye contact.

_Oh... she...regrets...this dating..."_Do you regret dati-" A slender gloved hand covered his mouth blocking the rest.

"No no no! It's just" She broke eye contact and looked straight ahead, "I want...us...to work."

He grabbed her hand in his, "Don't worry Tali. You're the best thing that has happened to me. I just hope you don't get tired of a primate" He added with a chuckle.

"I don't think that'll ever happen" She happily proclaimed. She had been playing with his 'many digits' since he had grabbed her hand.

"Mind if I help on the engines?" After seeing a nod of appoval he couldn't help adding, "And take your antibiotics, you sound sick" Which caused the young woman to pause her playing.

"Something wrong?" He asked

"Just, it's better for me to um... get used to you...so my body adapts...in case you..we..want to..."

He smiled at her nervous bumbling and tugged her hand towards the stairs, "Don't worry, we have all the time you could ever want." Little did he know how happy that simple statement made her.

The bright lights of the drive core after reemerging from the dimly lit corridors coupled with her acute allergic reaction to human oral bacteria caused an unfortunate incident. Almost as soon as she arrived at her terminal, with Aj closeby, she let out a high-pitched sneeze.

It did not go unnoticed. "Oh ho ho! What'd you two little devils do down there? Getting our boss sick with a lit-"

If the poor man continued his antics, he may have permanent brain damage. Gabby ended his little insinuations with a quick slap to the back of the head. "You really should have learned by now" She stated as he gave her a 'what did I do?' look.

Miss Zorah, on the other hand, had her face turn from a pale lavender to a deep purple, albeit unseen. Aj did not help the situation by laughing, which caused Tali to slap him on the chest. "Hey, c'mon that was funny." The expression and stance she followed with stated one clear fact: she was not amused. "Sorry gosh! No Kenneth, I just showed her our new quarters."

"Well, dont be doin nothin a'funny too loud, ya know we're right here" For some reason, Gabby found this statement acceptable, or she merely had a sore hand from the previous lecherous quips.

Sadly, Aj decided that Ken's sense of humor was worth expanding on. "There goes my super secret surprise. Would have defin-" This statement caused Tali to interrupt in a squeal of disapproval, pushing him away and putting her hands on her hips. The stance now stated another clear fact: strike two, your move. Ken started laughing like an idiot, and even Gabby started giggling, but her face was slightly reddened.

Thanfully, Tali's stance relaxed when he embraced her, but she made it clear he was on thin ice with her eyes. The ice may have thickened a bit when he whispered to her that he was only joking, but regardless, she was less than pleased.

"So Kenneth..." Aj stated a few seconds later. Noticing his coy speech, Tali prepared to punch him in the gut, while Ken listened rapt with attention. "Want to go on a double date? I know Gabby would just love it."

The man's face immediately reddened as did Gabby's. Any more blushing on this floor may very well cause a facial blood vessel to pop. Tali looked at him with an amused grin, satisfied he wasn't being a fre'eg again.

"I uh...well, Gabby?" Ken was absolutely dumbstruck by the sudden turn on events. He liked Gabby, but he wasn't really sure what or how to tell her.

"Sure, just keep your tongue in line" She smiled warmly at the embarrassed man, but still nudged him with her hip before he spoke again.

The interspecies couple spent the next three and a half hours happily working on the engines. The other two engineers commented and quipped snarky remarks, but nothing as 'confrentational' as before. Only the occasional 'bosh'tet' followed by a quarian's expert corrections to his mistakes or playful shove interrupted the work.

After a restless sleep, the commander woke up to EDI's automated alarm. After a quick trip to the lavatory, he activated the coms to the entire ship.

"All ground personel please report to the debriefing room. All non-combatants be ready; we may require the ship to be combat ready."

Once the entire squad was there, Shepard began to assign positions. "The colony has been dark for almost four hours. We know that communications are cut from the colonies a couple of hours before an attack, so likely we will be dropping into a hot zone. EDI's scans indicate a large amount of organic presences on the main colony base, which is were we'll be headed. It's close combat, but due to the layout, I'd feel safer with two smaller teams rather than one big one. Fair enough?"

The entire squad nodded in approval, or just that none of them really wanted to challenge Shepard's assessment, even surprisingly Miranda.

"Okay, so I'll lead the first team and Garrus will do the second. I'll be my team's biotic, so Jacob and Miranda, you're with Garrus. Kasumi will be the tech and Zaeed and Grunt both heavies. Those three will be going with me. Aj you're the other heavy and Tali the tech, you'll be with Garrus. Any questions?"

After another pause, he added. "I have a new strategy for these bastards also. We will be varying our ammo types due to our classifications on this mission. Jacob and Miranda, I'd like you both to use cryo ammo. It may neutralize the targets and make them easy work with your skills. Me, Garrus, Zaeed, Grunt, and Aj will be equipping incendiary rounds to take down any organic with ease. EDI reported no synthetic enemies, so I don't think that'll be an issue, but I'd rather be prepared. Tali and Kasumi, I want you all with disrupter ammo just in case your tech's don't fully drain any shields, and if any mechs are activated, you'd be the best equipped."

After another brief pause while EDI was updating the new data, he added. "Garrus, you're the Red team, and my squad will be Blue team. Also, Mordin will be handling the disruption tech against the swarms aboard the Normandy, so he will be unavailable during the mission. Whenever we split, Red team head right, blue team heads left to make it simple."

Most of the crew nodded, and Zaeed and Grunt were grinning at their assigned ammo; for some reason, both were happy to be using the most painful rounds towards an organic.

"Everyone, be ready, this will most likely be one hell of a mission. But we have one job to do, something the Alliance and the Council have chosen to ignore repeatedly. We will stop the Collectors from abducting this colony, and we will kick their ass back to whatever hole those sons of bitches crawled out of!"

The ground team cheered in approval. The time for speeches and techniques was over. In twenty five minutes, the time would come where words meant nothing. Only a lovely hyperaccelerated projectile to the skull would do the trick.

**Fre'eg: **Curse word. Literal translation: Clinging waste. In old earth english, a dingleberry.


	21. Hell on the Horizon

They had been on the outskirts of Horizon for well over an hour. There weren't any signs of battle. In fact everything seemed empty more than assaulted. The rolling plains stood eerily silent as houses reminded everyone that this was not an abandoned settlement, it was someone's livelihood. Both Red and Blue team were ready for anything, but hell was an unpredictable beast.

Upon nearing the city limits, an enormous ship was seen. It was near the center of the colony, and looked like a flying wasp's nest. The team couldn't focus on it for long.

"EDI, can you get a lock on that ship?" Shepard asked.

Instantly she replied, "No commander, any shot would likely cause major collateral damage"

"Ok, looks like we stick with plan A; blue team fall in. Red, status?"

"Red team reporting entering the main city" Garrus barked into the com, close behind him were the rest of his squad. _ There is no Vakarian without Shepard, he thought to himself._

"Blue team entering also. Fifty meters west of your location, over and out." The commander replied.

Upon entering the city, a soft drumming was heard, similar to a dragonfly flying nearby, but a little louder.

"Red, enter the building immediately, hostile contacts on my radar." The team followed without question, their radar had gone from empty to a sea of registered organics. Garrus still was at the twelve o'clock; Tali and Jacob covering the six, while Aj took the nine, Miranda the three.

Before they could advance on the likely hostilities, everyone heard a bellow. "I AM KROGAN!" It wasn't even through their com unit.

"Blue team, hostiles engaged, repeat engaged. Collector weapons a new beam, unknown strength. Try not to find out."

Red team advanced through the building, and upon opening the front door, saw what looked to be giant bipedal insects. There were nine of them, dutifully surrounded with a few strange looking coccoon-like pods. Garrus took the first shot with his new Viper; a hybrid assault/sniper rifle would serve the deadly turian quite nicely. If the first shot didn't kill the Collector albeit a direct headshot, the insuing flames boiling its skull finished the job. "OPEN FIRE!" He bellowed.

His orders were a mood point. The team executed the rest in an instantaneous and perfectly fluid motion.

In the background, Tali lifted her tool, "Go get them Chiktikka!" The drone ran towards the hostiles, but never made it. The beams made short work of the poor thing. She still shot an Incinerate at one, burning it alive.

Jacob began using his Eviscerator, and managed to hit one with a few cryo rounds, then biotically slamming the frozen being into the ground, shattering it to pieces.

Miranda had thrown a Warp at a different one, and threw in a combo with a biotic pull, which Tali quickly took advantage of and killed it with her Scimitar shotgun.

Aj threw out an Incinerate as well, killing one, and opened fire with his Revenant on another. Neither had a chance, and both burst into flames for different reasons.

The remaining three opened fire, but were soon overwhelmed. Albeit powerful, their weapons were not fully-automatic Cain's. Aj jumped from cover and started raining hell with his weapon, and Garrus lobbed one of Zaeed's infamous incendiary grenades, taking out one and causing the second to fall right into Aj's firing lane. The third one was taken out by Miranda's highly accurate Locust; it didn't even have time to freeze before it had succumb to her bullets.

"Red team, so far so good. Hostiles down" Garrus informed.

"Blue team, took down a dozen. Courtyard ahead, surround and flank. Out"

The teams ran into position, Shepard's squad actually had much less cover, but thankfully Garrus's accurate rifle along with Chiktikka managed to assist in causing enough of a distraction. The five Collectors again stood no chance from the nine squad members fire.

The teams reunited, but ahead, they saw over 20 of the damn insects. One of them, in the middle, started to glow. **'ASSUMING DIRECT CONROL' ** it boomed, clearly overheard by all. It looked as though it was shattering out of itself, but merely glowed and focused on the advancing parties.

Even Grunt did not charge at the many beams headed their way. Blue team headed left, which had a small amount of cover, and ended in a small building. There was a large bulkhead blocking the way, but that was a problem for later.

Red team stood behind the Collector's leftover pods, they made surprisingly decent cover. A few shots by Miranda and a quick shot by Garrus caused two of the beasts to fall, while Tali took out one which was trying to get behind Blue squad. Aj continued to rain fire with his weapon, and took one out. The eerily glowing being began to advance. It shot a few strange and slow moving orbs, which were easily dodged.

"RED TEAM CONCENTRATE FIRE!" Garrus ordered, and began shooting at it. His rounds were seemingly hitting an inpenitrable barrier. Miranda and Jacob both sent a Warp, which seemed to weaken it considerably. Aj and Tali both started to shoot as soon as the biotics had finished, and the barrier fell. The creature was still not slowing down. It bellowed, "**YOUR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!"**

As it approached, merely a few meters away from the Red squad, Blue team had reached a flanking position. The Collectors behind the leader started to aim moreso at the enraged krogan and his shotgun and expert mercenary's Mantis, but met a firey death at their hands. The two enraged members had to duck from the powerful beams after thir respective assaults. A flashbang along with a Locust taking out two enemies, while one was slammed and another shot to shit with a Revenant proved the other two's affinities for destruction.

The particularly powerful Collector had slowed down thanks to Tali's shotgun at close range along with Aj's fire, but was still not dead. Miranda and Jacob started raining hell, and Garrus was aiming at its joints. After a few well-placed rounds by the turian, its right arm disintegrated. Before it had time to react, the team went all out. For a split-second, the creature was partially frozen and in flames at the same time, but it eventually crumbled to ashes.

The remaining dozen Collectors had been focusing on Blue team, so Red team advanced. Grunt took the initiative, and charged, while Zaeed and Shepard followed close behind. The beasts stood no chance. A close range Mantis round took out another, creating a rather large hole in one's torso, while Grunt grabbed one, threw it to the ground, and stomped on it's face, crushing it. Shepard managed to take two down with a highly accurate burst, both screeched in agony before they burst aflame.

The advancing Red team assisted admirably. A few well placed Incinerates from Tali and Aj took down two more, and Miranda decapitated another. Jacob got one close range, freezing it, then another shot ultimately turning it into a thousand flecks of ice. Garrus kept covering fire from a distance, and took two more down.

As the remaining three tried to fly away and flee, they were unfortunate enough to land in the scopes of Zaeed's Mantis, and Kasumi's Locust. Grunt grabbed the third before it was out of range, threw it to the ground, and shot it in the face, laughing at the destruction.

"Kasumi hack the door open!" Shepard ordered, behind him, Zaeed and Grunt were laughing at the destruction, while he, Miranda, and Jacob took the quick pause to snag a quick energy boost. The theif scurried to the door to follow orders.

"Tali, how are you holding up?" Aj asked.

"Just fine, don't worry." Noticing his worried look did not abate, she added, "Really, these bosh'tets have nothing on me and you." She happily ended.

"Sorry, just can't help it." He walked over to a Collector and took its weapon, which was surprisingly heavy, and brought it to Shepard.

"Commander?" The man turned and looked at the gun wide eyed. "Mind me taking this since you made me leave my Avalanche onboard?"

"Yeah, sure. Actually..." He jogged over to Zaeed and Grunt and pointed at Aj. Both grinned, and soon four squadmates had one of their deadly beam rifles. Garrus looked conflicted on the prospect, but patted his sniper and walked to the bulkhead.

"Door's open Shep!" The nine squadmates advanced in unison, but it was an empty room...until they heard a small noise from the corner.

"We know you're here!" Shepard bellowed, and a shaking dark-skinned older male popped out of the corner.

"But... how? They took everyone... Lilith...Sam..." He stammered.

"We're here to help, but we can't target their ship"

"We have AA towers, but they weren't calibrated properly before..." Only Garrus had any sort of reaction, a slight smile.

"Were at?"

"Outside, through the buildings, and past another bulkhead...but I can't..."

"Just stay put, we're going to take care of it." They all left the room, and the bulkhead behind them sealed shut.

The two teams took a right, and saw not only Collectors, but husks and two large bulbous humanoids, Scions.

Without orders, Red team began opening fire on the right flank, which had the two Scions and a few Collectors, while Blue team headed to the left, mostly husks and some of the Collectors as well. The blue team easily cut through their side, three beam rifles in the hands of the deadly trio slaughtered the insects and human abominations without mercy, while Kasumi picked off any stragglers.

Red team had a lot more trouble, the scions were heavily armored. Aj quickly focused his fire on one the things, while Miranda and Jacob biotically slammed a couple of Collectors. Chiktikka vas Paus distracted the other scion, while Garrus shot it in the face, over, and over. The scion shot a strange shockwave at the two biotics, momentarily knocking them to the ground. After a brief cover from the beams, Aj moved his own beam rifle towards the scion Garrus had been aiming at while Tali took up some of the slack on the few remaining Collectors. She would not be able to hold them at bay for long, and thankfully she wouldn't have to. Another shotgun joined hers while a Locust cut through a further target. Garrus and Aj finally took down the first scion, but the second was slowly advancing.

As soon as Blue team finished, they aimed their rifles at the remaining scion. Taking the initiative, the rest of the team focused on the disgusting creation, and it toppled over within moments of the overwhelming fire. The last two Collectors were annihalated by a quarian and dark-skinned human's combined shotgun fire.

"Kasu-"

"I got it!" The theif had already began sprinting towards the bulkhead as the scion fell.

"EDI can you connect to the AA guns?"

"No commander, I will need a constant link to properly calibrate the towers."

The words sunk in, a preliminary scan in front of them showed a couple dozen organics, and the terminal required was right in the middle. "A constant link?"

"Yes commander"

"Commander, I can do it just cover me." Tali exclaimed.

"What the hell Tali?" Aj questioned, but he was ignored.

"Everyone, advance to the middle, surround Tali and provide cover fire."

"Bulkhead is ready Shep!" The door opened right after.

The entire team ran for the center terminal; everyone was shooting on the go. Everyone's shields were flickering, but still holding. They all got to the middle and faithfully surrounded the quarian while she linked EDI to the terminal.

"ETA 30 seconds commander. Beginning targetting."

Four well aimed beam rifles continued to hold back the insects. Kasumi and Miranda picked off any husks in the distance before they got close, while Garrus kept a steady rate of fire with his Viper, decapitating more than a handful of the bastards of both types. Anything what got in close was quickly taken down by Jacob's Eviscerator, while he used biotics for anything out of optimal firing range.

After about twenty seconds of well orchestrated slaughter, a giant floating beast came by. It looked simiar to a Collector, but one which had mated with a hanar. It had husks inside its gaping maw, and began to fire on the team's position.

Aj, Shepard, and Miranda began shooting at the new abomination, which was quickly closing in on their location. Jacob threw a Warp at it, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

"Upload complete" EDI announced; the guns began firing, but the Praetorian had already aimed at the terminal. Tali jumped out of the way, but still was knocked into a crate. She got up and sent an Incinerate at the bosh'tet what nearly killed her.

Aj ran over to her, and began firing along with her at the creature. The beast was getting the full force of the other seven squadmates, but didn't seem to abate. When Grunt got in close for a charge, it biotically slammed itself into the ground, knocking the young fighter a few meters back. He got back up even more pissed off and continued with the beam. It took another full ten seconds of literally constant fire to get the thing to disintegrate.

All the while, EDI had been firing at the ship; as soon as the Praetorian died, though, it began to fly off, seemingly uninjured even by the hail of artillery.

The group watched in silence as their target flew away; Shepard thought for a moment to tell EDI to give chase, but decided it was too much of a risk. Thousands of colonists were onboard.

After it left visual range, Shepard slammed his rifle to the ground. The team had scattered around besides Garrus, Tali, and Aj looking for other possible hostilities. "GOD DAMNIT"

The man they had seen earlier sprinted towards the four, and glared at them expectantly, "DO SOMETHING! They have most of the colony... my wife... "

Shepard had to look at the man and tell him what he least wanted to say, "I'm sorry. We did all we could..."

"Shepard, we did more than anyone else could've." Garrus added.

A bulkhead opposite they came from opened, and a fully armored female walked towards them. The man's glare only intensified, "Shepard? That Alliance hero? How can you just stand there when they took nearly everyone?"

The woman was only a few meters away, her helmet still covering her face; she was in full Alliance armor.

"Shut the hell up, what did you do to help?" Aj barked "You hid like a damn coward while Shepard actually did something?"

The woman stopped in her tracks. "Sh...Shepard?" The man looked at the woman and mumbled 'damn Alliance dogs' and walked off.

_That voice...can it really be..._He took of his helmet and let it drop to the ground. He looked at her and managed a weak smile. "Lieutenant Ashley Williams..."

The woman gasped, and did the same. "But... you, you're dead!" Her face was one of complete astonishment. The other three stood still, but two of them were smiling at seeing their old friend again.

"I was dead Ash... Cerberus spent a fortune getting me back alive." He took a step closer and his smile grew a little.

"So it's true... you're alive...and now Cerbeus?" She ended almost yelling, causing him to frown.

"Apparently the Alliance and the Council pissed on everything I did while I was gone!" He angrily yelled right back.

"I can't believe you John. I... I loved you, and you left me for two years without a single word, and now you're back with terrorists?" She looked more distraught now than angry.

"I've been dead damnit! It's been three weeks for me since the Normandy was lost. Cerberus is the only group who's working to stop the Collectors! I've been trying to cont-"

"How do you know Cerberus isn't behind all of this Shepard? They could easily be tricking you!"

"Do you think they're tricking me too Ash? Do you think they'd even want a turian around unless it was that important?" Garrus interjected.

"G..Garrus?" She choked.

"We're here for Shepard, Ashley, he knows what he's doing" Tali added happily, but tensed up in anger after the response.

Shepard was about to grin at just how lucky he was to have his two closest friends have his back when Ashley yelled.

"You shut the fuck up bitch! You're just try-" Aj strided up to her and slapped her in the face. He loaded his Revenant and aimed it at her heard. She looked at the unknown man with a fear she hadn't attained since staring down a Reaper.

"Don't you ever talk to her li-" But he was stopped by Shepard grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. Aj nodded and walked over to the visibly shaken Tali and grabbed her hand while Garrus scowled at his former crew member.

"I'm sor-" He whispered but Tali embraced, him seeking comfort from her former friend's second hateful remark the last two times they've met.

Ashley got up and glared at Aj, but said nothing further. She looked at Shepard even angrier. "You betrayed everything you stood for. I can't believe I let you use me!" Tears began to flow from her eyes. "Well you know what? I found someone who actually cares about me now." She pulled out her armored right glove and revealed a golden band.

Shepard's mind suddenly went blank..._Sh...she's...married..and hates me..._ He sulked for a moment but her shouting made him snap.

"I'm proudly Ashley Bernard now." She replied in an amused tone. "Not with a heartbreaking, backstabbing trai-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP WOMAN!" Shepard barked above her voice. His commanding tone even caused Garrus to flinch and Tali to stop and look up.

"If you want to hide behind your fucking Alliance, then go right ahead. Unlike you worthless mutts, I plan on doing something about" He motioned with his arms at the empty colony "this. Don't you ever call me a traitor. If you're too damn stupid to see what the real threat is then that's your own problem. But don't you EVER FUCKING SPEAK TO ME AGAIN!" He picked up his helmet and stormed off, never looking back. Garrus quickly followed.

Tali glanced at the woman; she was speechless, shocked, and broken in one shout. Aj grabbed her hand and tugged, resisting the urge to shoot the psycopathic lady on the spot. They both saw her trudge away wordlessly.

After a few seconds of walking away, Shepard pulled up his com, "EDI, send down the shuttle. I need to get out of this place."

"Understood commander." The synthetic replied.

The rest of the team had heard his outburst, and stood a bit back from their leader. Only a select few knew who the lady was, but everyone could tell by his face that now was not the time for questions. Garrus merely put a talon on his shoulder for a moment before joining the crew.

Tali could only squeeze Aj's hand tighter watching their former commander stare emptily at the courtyard, heartbroken.


	22. Blast from the Past

The shuttle ride back was cramped, but nobody spoke a word. Thousands of colonists were abducted, and their normally powerful and stoic leader, refused to speak a word in the pilot's seat. It was then that his impenetrable facade of an almighty hero was broken. He was only a human.

Shepard exited the shuttle and headed to the elevator, while Aj and Tali went down to the engineering section. As soon as he reached the second floor, he went to speak to the Illusive Man, his face still expressionless. _I expected it, but damn..._

"Commander Shepard, I'm glad to see the report of your mission's success. Next time the Collectors will think twice before attacking."

"It wasn't a success." He mumbled.

The Illusive Man was quite skilled at reading body language. "I understand you feel guilty about the colonists, and I heard about your confrentation with your former squadmate."

"Why didn't you tell me she was married?"

"Two reasons, Shepard. I needed you to be completely focused on the mission, which you were, and..." He paused for a second, without sipping or smoking, a rarity. "There are some things even I refrain from delving into. Your personal life, unless it directly affects the mission, is not something I plan on interfering with."

_Always logical, the bastard... but I guess he's somewhat right on this..._ "So what's next? I take it we're not ready to head through the Omega Relay yet?" His voice barely hid the lingering depression.

"I currently have no direct objectives for you, but I am locating two powerful biotics for your squad. They will be the last recruits I believe you'll need, and I'm sure their talents will not disappoint. However, they are quite...'illusive'. I will inform you of any upcoming endeavors requiring your attention." He cut the line.

The commander stared at the wall for a minute straight, and made up his mind on the next destination. The ghosts of the pasts needed to rest once and for all.

"EDI, tell Joker to head to Alchera."

"Understood commander, eta 5 hours." In the pilot's seat, Joker grimaced, but obeyed.

He headed down to talk to his old buddy Garrus, if anything, just to get his mind off the past events.

Back down in engineering, Tali hadn't spoken a word yet, even after leaving the group besides Aj.

"Tali, is something wrong?" He asked while standing by her console. She hadn't even started working.

Sighing, she turned to him. "I just can't believe what Ashley did to Shepard. Or what you did to her."

"Tali, I'm sorry, just what she sai-"

She quickly interrupted him. "Don't, you didn't hurt her more than she deserved. I just, I just don't really want to work right now."

The response surprised him, hell Tali was the hardest working woman he'd ever met. "Do you want to lay down for a while first?" He whispered. After she nodded he grasped her hand, but hadn't made it a few steps before:

"Destination Alchera, eta 5 hours." EDI announced.

"Oh keelah no, now he wants to go back there..." She stopped in her tracks.

"What do you mean inszel?" She quickly turned her head and smiled a little.

"I love it when you call me that" She leaned her head into his shoulder, and continued. "It's were the first Normandy was attacked. Where he...died."

He started to lead her down the stairs, and they sat on the makeshift bed before he spoke. "I think you should go with him. He seems pretty depressed."

She paused for a moment before answering. "If he wants me to. I'll ask Garrus if he wants to also. We were both there..." She trailed off. She typed into her omnitool, and was surprised by a quick affirmative. "Garrus says he will too. Um... will you come with me?"

"I don't know if the comm-"

She looked at him with with those beautiful silver eyes - almost begging; eyes you could hardly deny. "Please... I don't want to be alone." She gripped his hand ever so slightly tighter.

He was about to retort with the fact Garrus and Shepard would be there, but her tone said it all. She wanted him there, and for no other reason then that she loved him. "Okay." He whispered and held her tightly while she rested her head on his shoulder.

After a few seconds of just being close together, with the unfortunate suit in the way, he asked one simple question what could possibly change everything. "Hey Tali?"

"Yes love?" She looked up from her head's perch.

"When you said 'bonded', it sounded different than just dating." His perusal was rewarded with the poor girl's heart rate increasing, her eyes widening, and his hand let go in favor of another wrestling match between her own. Her eyes couldn't break away.

_Oh keelah no... what am I going to tell him? We've been together for three days. How am I supposed to explain what a lifemate is..._

She didn't answer for a few moments, and Aj knew her hands, albeit cute, signified she was nervous. "Is something wrong?" She just looked at her hands, suddenly interested in their never ending struggle.

He grabbed one of her hands, and lifted her chin to look at him. "Tali, please tell me."

"Can it wait please." She whispered, still not making eye contact.

_Why is she so nervous? The fleet surely wouldn't be too mad, hell, I'm a part of it right?_ "Fine, but at least look at me." He said a little too sternly.

She slowly obeyed, but her mind was racing, fingers a'squirmin. _Now he's mad at me. What am I-_

"Tali'Zorah. I love you. Okay? After Alchera please explain it to me." He kissed her vocal emitter. It was the closest thing to a kiss he could give her while she was inside her suit.

"I love you too..." She relaxed quite a bit after his statement, but was still unsure if the meaning was as deep across their species.

"Let's get some rest, okay?" He stood up and lifted her from the bed.

Her squeal in protest was unheard, or at least unheeded. After a second, though, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.

"You're a bosh'tet, you know that?" She teased. "What happened to resting?"

After finally hearing some of the gloom leave her voice, he whispered with all the love he could muster, "I just wanted to hold you in my arms for a moment. Maybe to make sure this isn't just a very good dream." He gently placed her on the far side of the bed, closer to the wall, while he layed beside her.

She draped an arm around his chest, and rested her helmet into his shoulders. Even quieter, and a few seconds from sleep, she quietly replied, "I'd be awake by now."

Unfortunately, her tool beeped right after. Sighing, she said "Sorry Aj" and answered.

"Who is i-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" She quickly closed the line.

Startled, he sat up and grabbed her free hand. "Who was it honey?"

"Just Garrus being a bosh'tet." She paused for a moment. "Why did you call me processed pollen by earth insects?"

Facepalming, he replied "Its a term of endearment. Its sweet, like you."

She glanced at him and shook her head. "Primates..." But it was clear she was happy at the meaning. They both went to sleep soon thereafter.

Shepard wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about with the turian, but he knew his snide remarks always did the trick. When he got to the armory, the door opened to see the back hump of the said dextro.

"Hey Garrus, you busy?"

He quickly turned around. "Uh, no Shepard. What's up?"

"I take it you know were we're heading?"

_Damnit, he's losing it..._"Yeah, the first Normandy crash site, I can understand why you want to visit."

"Well, I was hoping you'd come down with me. I want to find as many of the dog tags as I can. It's a bit late, but I think the families would appreciate it."

Garrus's omnitool beeped before he could answer. "Tali asked to come with her boyfriend too, sound good?"

"Yeah sure. I still don't get that couple though."

"Wait, you're telling me Mr. Robot man and a quarian -one who particularly hates geth might I add- isn't normal?" That finally broke the tension, and the two friends shared a quick laugh.

"By the way, think we should look for the Mako? I mea-"

"Hell no Shepard! You even scared Wrex with your driving!"

"Oh c'mon, it wasn't that bad."

"Land vehicles aren't meant to do somersaults!"

"That was just once!"

"Oh really?" He lifted his tool and soon began speaking. "Hey Tali, want to recover the Mako s-

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" The link,was cut right after.

Shepard blushed a little at the quarian's conviction. "Ok fine, damn we'll stick with the Hammerhead!"

Garrus chuckled a bit, but then became serious. "I'm sorry about what happened down there John."

Momentarily stunned by the use of his first name, he shook his head. "I was almost expecting it to be over, but not like that." He started to scratch his chin.

"Well, there's tons of women who'd kill for the savior of the Citadel, so no worries."He added smirking.

"Huh, maybe I should go xeno or something. My few girlfriends have all been human, seems the game on this loveboat is dextro." His grin was a little too...accusing...towards Garrus, but he retorted without a hitch.

"What, are you going to try to snag a quarian girl too? Just because Aj did?"

"You're not so innocent either you know." Shepard failed miserably at coyness.

The turian equivalent of blushing was a few precise clicks, which so happened. "Uh, what do you mean?"

"A little sneaky birdy told me about a certain Dr. Michel..."

_Damnit Kasumi! _"Well, uh, we're just meeting for lunch next time we get to the Citadel."

"Honestly, good luck. Just try not to make any weapon references."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyways good luck, and when in doubt, you can't go wrong with an asari."

"Sure, sure. I'll see you when we get there." He waved him off and left the forward batteries in a noticeably better mood. _You know what? Fuck Ashley. She was always a xenophobic bitch. And yet here I am, my two closest friends are aliens, Tali and Scarface._

He spent the rest of his time upstairs polishing his models and reading a holographic rendition of a book called "Self Reliance" by Thoreau.

_'Aj, we are minutes away from Alchera' a synthetic voice interrupted his dreaming, so he focused to respond but was too lazy to open his eyes._

_'Thanks EDI, did Mordin's supplements come in?'_

_'Yes they arrived hours ago, but I did not want to disturb your rest.'_

_'Perfect! Have you looked into what the direct interfacing might be like?'_

_'There is no material on the subject, though I am getting a grasp of your capabilities.'_

_'Great! Say uhm, do you know anything about quarian bonding?'_

_'They are a monogamous species is the only reliable information I can locate'_

_'Ah, well thanks for trying. Later maybe we can increase the data through this means of communication'_

_'I will try with due caution. Commander asked for you and Tali'Zorah in the hanger bay.'_

_'Ok, thanks again.'_

He opened his eyes and saw a friendly visor inches away from his face. "Tali"

Two glowing dots fluttered open. "Yes love?"

"It's time to wake up"

A small whine escaped her helmet and she turned. Aj just got up and grinned. _Round 2!_

He lifted the drowsy quarian. She squeaked, then hissed in protest but then comfortably rested her head against his chest.

"You enjoy that too much." She whispered.

He walked up the stares still smiling with her in his arms. Once they descended the elevator, he noticed her eyes were still closed. Shepard was chatting with Garrus, so he bellowed, "Look what I found in the vents!"

Tali woke up instantaneously and heard the sounds of the two snickering. She hastily escaped her human taxi and slapped his chest.

"Better watch out Aj, she's got a shotgun" Garrus quipped while Shepard got in the tank.

"Yeah Aj, I do" She smugly tapped her Scimitar.

"I vote we get out of here before I get shot, shall we?" Thankfully, Tali agreed. The group squeezed into the small craft.

"Enjoying the lap Tali?" Shepard prodded in mid descent. She was forced to sit on Aj's due to lack of seating.

"If she doesn't I sure as hell do" Aj quickly added, causing the front seat duo to laugh at a quarian's expense.

"Idiots, all of you" She mumbled, but her tone and smile at him afterwards hinted at a concurring sentiment.

When they finally descended, the mood was a slightly more somber. Quietly, the four stared at a large piece of hull clearly saying 'Normandy SR-1'. They found some dog tags in the vacinity.

Suddenly, of all people, Shepard happily yelled, "Come here!"

The three saw him standing at a seemingly structuraly intact Mako.

"No no no you bosh'tet that thing belongs here permanently."

Garrus just shook his head and walked away.

"It looks like fun!" Aj exclaimed. Unbeknownst to him, two dextro-based sapients were glaring at him. They turned away still scowling but focused on the search still.

"That's the spirit!" Shepard walked nearby to pick up some more dog tags he saw gleaming.

Aj jumped up on the Mako and forced open the hatch. He crawled inside, and grabbed the controls. _Huh, why the hell not?_

He focused deeply on the machine, and felt the controls springing to life. For a moment, he felt the wheels turning, but it wasn't going to move. It was stuck, and still badly damaged.

He left the vehicle only to see three suited toes rapidly hitting the ground while two hands rested on her hips. "Get out of there keelah!"

Shepard on the other hand, yelped in excitement. "It works! Just a quick tune up and..."

Unfortunately, Garrus 'accidentally' opened the hatch and tossed an inferno grenade insiide it. "Nope, sorry it's not salvageable" Is all he said walking away.

Tali grabbed Aj's hand and forced him away from the Mako when she gasped loudly. "Shepard! C..come here!"

He sprinted over, but stopped in his tracks. He slowly reached for a badly burnt helmet, not saying a word. He was quietly holding the helmet the rest of the expedition.

"Hey Tali, come look at this data pad" Garrus said through the coms.

Aj stayed behind and watched Shepard. _It must be tough to see the gear you died in..._He wished he had his photo, and deeply hoped it hadn't been discarded.

Tali came over clutching a worn data pad and walked to Aj, then tightly embraced him, dropping it. "I want to leave...I miss the old crew."

Now was not the time for a snide rebuttal, "I'm sorry Tali. We can wait in the shuttle." They held hands the entire short trek. The other two quietly joined a few minutes later.

"We found all of them." Is all Shepard said; the ride up was a lot quieter.

When they finally got back to the Normandy, Shepard spoke again. "Thanks for coming, all of you. I...I just need to think for a while." He paused and said, "EDI, head to the Shrike Abyssal, we need to do a few upgrades. We can't just rely on those beam rifles."

EDI replied an affirmative, while the four made way to the elevator. Tali stopped Aj before pushing deck four, and pushed three instead.

Three of them exited, while Shepard pushed deck one with his memoir.

"I'm glad we went Tali. You too Aj, just trust us on the Mako." He replied without much humor.

When he left, Aj stood at the exit of the elevator and asked, "Why are we-" but Tali grabbed his hand and tugged him into the med bay. Dr. Chakwas looked surprised, but they continued past her into an empty room.

"Tali, do you plan on altering my programming?" EDI stated, almost nervously.

Tali jumped at the unexpected noise, but regained herself stating, "No, EDI. Can you lock the door?"

"Of course"

"Tali, why are we here?" Aj whispered.

She sighed, and looked at him right in the eyes. "W..we need...to talk."

Aj immediately became worried. "Is something wrong? I mean...I don't want...us to end."

She looked a little relieved, but still seemed sad in replying. "I need to explain what bonding means." _Please ancestors, don't let him leave me now._

**Inszel**: Term of status or standing within a social circle. Literal translation: Most trusted confidant and partner. Used to describe the personal relationship of an individual. Implies a deep personal connection. Humans would say girlfriend or boyfriend but these only touch the surface of what it truly means.


	23. Love and Loss

"Okay... so, is it something to do with your race being monogamous because of the suits?" He stated nervously.

"Aj, our kind was like this before the war." She continued, "we uh, bond, in three stages. They are called pemla'tiyl, hecs'tiyl, and felz'tiyl."

She continued, "The first stage, pemla'tiyl, is when two people start to become close. I think Kal'Reegar and I" Aj unconciously felt slightly possessive but quelled the thought, "have been in this stage for years. It means we're going to stay only as close friends, and it can stay in that phase permanently, like with him."

"The second phase is hecs'tiyl, where we start to become dependent on the other. It's not what you may think, but just that they feel better around each other. They focus more on the needs of both than just each other as individuals. It usually, uh, leads to the next part."

Sighing, she continued, "The last phase is felz'tiyl. It's when the two know they are united as one. In essence, they are bonded, even before the ceremony. It's a permanent bond, and the two couldn't even imagine being with anyone else. They become lifemates."

She ended looking at her lap. _Keelah...he...he won't understand...even us quarians can't predict when they happen..._ She fully expected her love to leave her right then and there, if not with a direct manner.

"How long does the process take for a quarian relationship?" He asked, perusing into the topic and slightly startling her.

"There is no necessary time. Everyone is different, some take a month or two to become fully bonded, while others take over a year to reach the final stage. It just depends on the people." She lowered her shoulders, an excuse for the quick time seemed all but certain in her eyes. She had secretly researched human customs, and saw they often didn't bond for over a year if not multiple. Her people were more social, and often found their loves more quickly than them.

_It... really doesn't seem to different than ours...just a bit more spiritual...and slightly faster, not much more though than the Catholic views back in Puerto Rico..._ He glanced over at her before thinking anymore, and noticed her shoulders were slumped again... she was ashamed...again.

"Why are you ashamed though Tali?" She quickly perked up and looked up at him eyes wide.

"A...a...ashamed? No... I'm not Aj, at least, not by you..." She replied weakly.

"Then of what? You don't need to lie to me Tali, I love you. We've only been 'dating' " He air quoted the word, "For a few days, but everyday I didn't see you on the fleet I felt alone. I wanted to just be around you for any reason I could think of. I don't know if I'll ever fully understand the bonding process, but I know I can't see myself without you. I told you I wanted to be with you for a reason." He grabbed her three fingered hand with his, trying to put all of the love he could behind his words.

"Because...Aj... I think... I think I'm almost at the third phase Aj. When I saw you on Haestrom, I couldn't...I just couldn't imagine... you gone..."

"But you risked your own life on Horizon without a second thought."

"I had to Aj! I had to protect you, and everyone on the team." She noticed his eyes were closed now.

"And I had to protect you then, and I plan on protecting you as long as I can."

She looked away, deep in thought. _The blood...it was everywhere. He could have just left me there. I...would have tried to stop it...but fail...but as long as he can?_ She turned to see his eyes closed, as if meditating.

'_EDI, please sterilize the room'_

_'Of course' He heard her reply._

He opened his eyes to see a worried visor looking back at him."Are, are you mad at me?"

He shook his head no, and reached up to take off her visor. Tali's hands rose up on his, but didn't stop him. Still, he added, "Trust me Tali, please."

She gulped in her helmet, but spoke through her heart, although barely a whisper. "I trust you Aj." But in her mind she was scared for her life.

He gently took off her visor, the soft hiss of the airlock confirming the action. And there, there behind the necessary shield, the beautiful lavender face he'd fallen in love with staring worridly back at him. Her beautiful silver eyes, him barely able to see the white pupils, were fixed on his.

"Tali, I'm not a quarian, but I understand love. I've told you that I love you. The best way I can explain it is, well, I feel like I'm on the second phase of bonding in your terms. If you'll wait for me, give me time, I want this. I want you. I don't know if I'll ever bond the way you do, but I know one thing for certain. I'll always, always.. love you."

She felt something powerful in her mind, in her heart. She had reached the final stage with this human. An uncontrollable feeling deep from within had chosen this man as her lifemate. "I'll wait for you Aj, I promise." She smiled, truer and more loving than she had since her mother gave her the suit she had worn on her Pilgrimage.

No response was needed. He gently guided her face to his, his lips to hers. A deeper, more passionate kiss than the first melded all her doubts, all her fears. The same kiss spoke to him. She would be the one. The time would come, not now, not tomorrow, but soon for his own heart to guide him as hers has been.

After the kiss, they stared into each others eyes, looking for a doubt that did not exist, and returned the gesture, longer and softer than before. Time was only an inconvenience.

She put on her visor reluctantly, and activated her antibiotics and immunosuppersors. No words were spoken as love needs not the babbling of any. Hand n hand, her head against him, they left the room. A smiling Dr. Chakwas looked above from her desk; she hadn't heard anything, but could see they both were much happier. The couple silently made their way to engineering, and went back to work, side by side. Two people, regardless of the fact their ancestries led to opposite corners of the galaxy, were poised to unite as one in due time

Meanwhile, Miranda had found reports of a strange signal being reported, one what shouldn't even still be a factor. She quickly forwarded the information to one of the few people she truly trusted, Jacob, through an anonymous address. The man was the closest thing she had to a friend recently, if she can give him any sort of peace, he deserved it.

The man took only a few minutes to find the information on his terminal, and decided one thing: he had to check this out, even if it was to find what he already expected, a dead father. But after what Shepard had seen, and his current affiliations, his hopes weren't very high on even getting the oportunity. Why should the man help him?

Jacob reluctantly went up the elevator; he knew the commander had just been back to his...deathplace, but he hoped he would at least note it in his list of things to do.

He arrived outside the commander's cabin, and finally made his move. He knocked on the bulkhead. "Commander, Jacob Taylor, requesting a short meeting."

He heard a slight shuffle, and something being put on a table. "Come in Jacob."

The darker man walked in and saluted, to which the commader weakly smiled at, "At ease Jacob, what do you need?" Jacob noticed the burnt helmet; they had left it on the planet after his 'death'. A full circle by one mortal being, but a new chance at galactic unity reborn.

"I was given some information about my father, sir." He stated calmly.

Shepard gave him a confused look. "I thought you told me he had passed years ago?"

"I thought so to, and he may very well be. But his ship, the MSV Hugo Gernsback, just released a distress beacon. Sir, it went down almost a decade ago."

"And you want to check it out to see why it took so long?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Yes sir, uh, I mean if it's-" Jacob answered but was cut off.

"EDI, switch course to the..." Shepard looked at him expectantly.

"Rossetta Nebula, planet 2175 Aeia sir." He wasn't expecting this quick of a result, and his face showed it.

"Diverting course commander" She informed.

"Thank you commander, I'll be in the armory. I don't know what to expect." The man thanked after a brief moment of silence.

The commander nodded, "We'll get this sorted out Jacob, don't worry. You deserve some closure."

At that moment, Jacob knew were his loyalties lie. A true leader not only leads by example, but cares about his followers. A thousand words are meaningless, but one action can change a life. Cerberus be damned if it came to be, Commander Shepard truly protects his team, however he can. He would not, could not, and never would give him anything but the best he could.

Thankfully, their current position on Alchera was not too far from their destination, and it only took a few hours. For this trip, he decided to bring two heavily armed teammates and a tech just in case. He brought Grunt and Garrus for their definite prowess in combat; he was about to bring Tali, but knew she'd prefer to be around Aj, even if she would agree without hesitation. He decided to bring Kasumi, she seemed to care about Jacob, even if it was only superficial.

They arrived at the landing site, and were shocked at the planet.

"This place.. it's beautiful !" exclaimed Kasumi. She was oogling the scenery with curious eyes. Grunt and Jacob seemed to be too focused on other matters, such as killing or finding their father.

"Yeah, it is; I wonder why it hasn't been claimed yet." Garrus added.

The team moved out until they met up with the beacon, which still had an active VI. The VI clarified Garrus's question, the bacteria present caused severe cognitive enhamperment. It called it, neural decay, and noted that Jacob's father was placed in charge due to the captain's untimely death.

"He was in charge, and waited ten years? What the hell happened down here..." Jacob asked nobody after their brief discussion with the synthetic.

"Something doesn't seem right; be ready for anything." Shepard warned.

They briefly examined the ship, and were absolutely appalled. Although one intact log entry showed just how unpleasant the neural decay was, the other one made everyone cringe, even Grunt.

"This man was weak, taking advantage of females when they can't fight back. My kind would have fed him to the thresher maws or ripped off his plate while he couldn't fight back. The coward..." He growled.

"This isn't right. We need to find the bastard responsible for all of this." Jacob proclaimed, slightly surprising the group.

"Agreed" Garrus and Shepard said simoultaneously, giving each other a strange look afterwards.

They exited the ship and made their way past the beacon from earlier. In front of them were a few boxes of stacked crates, likely empty supply caches from the beginning of the crew's endeavor. Suddenly, a woman popped up from said crates and ran towards them frantically, but she was unarmed, saving her life likely.

"You came from the sky!?" She exclaimed once she got face to face with Shepard.

"Uh, yes. Who's in charge?" He questioned, but expected nothing useful due to her odd greeting.

"The leader, he said you would come to save us! The hunters didn't wait. They want to kill us!"

"What are you-" But he was cut off when Garrus's sniper fired; he looked past the lady and noticed there were more armed men incoming, one aiming at him. He pushed the lady behind the crates while a round gleamed off his chest, protected by the shields.

The six armed intruders made a grave mistake in attacking the group. Garrus picked one off, while Grunt charged the closest two with his shotgun, obliterating them. Jacob did the same taking another close one. Kasumi appeared behind one in the back and dropped him with a close range Locust burst. Shepard slammed the remaining one into the ground biotically, crushing the life out of him.

"The hunters, they don't trust the leader. He promised to save us! He promised!" The lady ran ahead of them, and they decided to follow her with a quick jog. After a quick jog, they ended up at a camp filled only with women?

Jacob was getting slightly agitated at the obscure and illogical answers, so e stepped ahead of the group. "What the hell is going on here?" He yelled to the feminine group.

One of the other women screeched loudly, "You have his face! He promised, but nobody came for us!" The women scrambled away from him, fearful of the innocent man resemblant of a monster.

"That's not a good sign." Shepard proclaimed.

"Have his face? Jacob your father..." Kasumi wearily added.

"I need to find this man." He grumbled in response.

Garrus walked up to a strange looking creation. "A statue? They had to make this thing..."

"That's borderline worship!" barked Jacob, even angrier.

Moving out of the camp, they met up with a lady sitting by herself. "I... was a doctor. Please. Help us." She handed them a data pad, but the look on her face was what hit the group. It was a look of a person who gave up a long time ago, and just wants it to end, no matter how.

Jacob took the pad, and screamed, "Damnit! These bastards assigned the women around like pets!"

Oddly enough, Grunt spoke up after a low growl. In his species society, the males earned their breeding partners through a show of their own strength. To take advantage of a helpless female was akin to murdering a child, a disgrace with no honor. "Doctor, where is this man. We will... end this."

The woman's true lack of care for her own life showed. She didn't even cower in fear over the enraged krogan, and pointed over a small ledge of debris. "Machines. They shoot us when we tried to stop them. We tried..." The woman teared slightly.

Most of the group nodded, but Kasumi kneeled beside her. "Tell the others to be ready. We came here to save you."

Grunt gingerly lifted up the now weakly smiling human and brought her back to the camp, still surprising the group. He carefully placed the woman on a bed near camp, and nodded at her. She would be avenged.

Garrus looked at him, and thought only one thing. The krogan aren't beasts, they aren't animals. Sure they're aggressive, but they're intelligent, and don't deserve their kids dying for no other reason than fear of their race. He cursed his forefathers for their atrocities, and vowed he would do what he can. To hell with being a proper turian, life is a sacred force, and children are innocent.

They all hopped over the ledge, and saw a freshly killed male corpse. The group shook their heads and ran forward, refusing to allow this blasphemy.

After a few seconds, an intercom broke the silence: "This is Captain Taylor, the crew went rogue, I'm glad you came. I activated the beacon as soon as I could."

"Bullshit" Jacob yelled out, while the others nodded in agreement. They passed a small area with a few crates, when suddenly five LOKI mechs appeared from the left and seven from a small pathway further down.

Grunt, Shepard, and Jacob charged the closer five; Shepard slaughtered two of them with his Revenant while Jacob biotically pushed one and shot the other. Even the raging krogan admired his anger, while he decapitated the final one. All the while Garrus and Kasumi picked off a few of the far ones, leaving three left. Jacob and Grunt again charged them, Grunt taking two down easily and Jacob blowing the third to shreds.

They continued down the pathway the mechs had came down, and saw a couple more mechs in the distance. Garrus quickly took them both down while the team ran ahead, he was close behind though.

Taking a right, they met another odd clearing filled with debris from the crashed spaceship. A few human hunters and a YMIR mech were prowling the area, unfortunately. Before they could attack, however, the intercom blared again.

"My bodyguards won't allow anyone to get to me, you'll have to kill them."

"THAT'S THE BEST HE CAN DO?" Jacob roared, causing the mechs and people to begin firing.

Grunt bellowed his approval and decided to take down a nearby human by hand. Needless to say, the krogan won a quick victory. Kasumi threw a flashbang out in the group of three bodyguards on a small pedistel, and Shepard burnt them to a crisp with one well-aimed, albeit long, burst from his beam rifle -he had just unholstered it. The last bodyguard was pushed into the ball at a bonecrushing force by an enraged Jacob.

The YMIR had been firing the entire time, but everyone was smart enough to stay out of its way. Shepard started firing from cover, as did Garrus, slowly weakening its shield. Kasumi soon thereafter started to add her Locust's fire. Slowly, the shield started to wither, and it eventually died. Jacob and Grunt decided to charge at that moment, and it worked to perfection. While it was distracted by the fire from the three behind cover, they closed the distance. At only a few meters away, the mech began to turn towards the new targets, but it was too late. Grunt had also taken out his beam rifle and was at extremely close range while Jacob's Eviscerator tore it to shreds.

The only reason the duo ran off was due to the self-destruct mechanism built in to the synthetic, and they narrowly dodged the incoming projectiles from said explosion.

They reached a gate, which Kasumi quickly hacked and opened without question. The group made its way up a slight incline, and saw only one man ahead. A dark skinned male was frantically pacing back and forth, when he saw the group and waved.

When they got closer, he began talking. "Captain Taylor, thanks for saving me from these monsters."

Garrus began to walk closer with a scowl, but Shepard put a hand up. The man respected Shepard enough to wait it out. "What the hell happened here?"

"The crew began to eat the local wildlife. It made them go crazy, so I bunkered up here after I set off the beacon."

"You're an idiot, we know you've been here for nearly ten years." Kasumi added.

"Do you normally let your crew talk like this to another captain, uh...?" The man trailed off, hinting for a name.

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this..." he motioned to Jacob, but let him finish the sentence.

"Jacob Taylor." He stated, glaring at the elderly man who looked extremely similar to his son.

"Jacob? No..." He stated with wide eyes.

"Why not me, 'father' " The way he said the name made it sound like the most vile creature imaginable.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this. The stress of leadership..."

"TEN YEARS DAMNIT!" Jacob bellowed back.

The man had no response. He merely looked at his son, much the way the lady had before. Defeated.

"Call in an Alliance ship, tell them to be ready for medical support" Shepard stated into his com unit.

"What about him?" Grunt growled, taking a step towards the human. The 'captain' cowered back with his hands up.

Jacob turned to the man, and looked him right in the eyes. "You used to be a good father. I'll never forget the man you were, the man you should have stayed. Now look at what you've done to these people. You're despicable. You're not the man I used to know." He raised up his shotgun, and fired one round towards his father's face. The headless corpse dropped, but Jacob wouldn't even look at it. He walked away with an expressionless look on his face.

The rest of the team followed the man back to the Kodiak. Shepard only stopped when he told the group a team is coming to help them. The smiles on the people were something what somewhat elevated the mood. The doctor they had seen earlier was on the ground crying tears of joy. They came for them. They would be safe again.

Before they left though, Kasumi walked up to the son of the demon. "Jacob?"

"Yes Kasumi? And thank you fo-" But he was cut off by her embrace.

"Just remember, we're all here for you. I can't imagine what that must have been like, but you have a family here. Never forget that."

The man was stunned, but was truly happy nonetheless. He had ended the ghost of his old family, but her words were true. The ship wasn't a haphazard group of individuals, but a close-knit conglomerate of brothers and sisters, any one of them he'd proudly die for. He warmly returned the embrace. "Thank you, I know you're right." He managed a weak smile, which Kasumi gladly accepted; there was always a second chance.

The shuttle went back to the Normandy, but Shepard and Jacob quickly returned with a week's worth of food stuffs. The son frees the souls of his father's twisted hell, and lives lost can return to true lives anew. Even Jacob smiled again when a woman jumped at him screaming for joy. They ate safe food for the first time in nearly ten years.

**Pemla'tiyl**: Term for courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the mind, the first of the three phases that lead to bonding. The period of time where the couple learns of one another through a deep sharing of thoughts. May lead to bonding or just a very deep friendship.

**Hecs'tiyl**: Term of courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the heart. Second of three: Signifying the period where the needs of both begin to overrule the needs of self. Almost always leads to bonding though this phase is usually the longest of the three.

**Felz'tiyl**: Term of courtship. Literal translation: Pathway to the soul. Third of three: Signifies the period in which the two slowly realize that without the other they are incomplete. Once this phase is entered only one's death can prevent the bonding.


	24. Gifts of Peace

The next few days after the events at 2175 Aeia were quite relaxing.

Jacob had went to the Illusive Man for answers immediately following the unfortunate events. He had calmly denied any involvement, but Miranda stepped into the QEC and declared she was the one. The sole reason for the information release, and accepted full responsibility. After the connection was cut, Miranda began to apologize. She truly had not expected that to be the case, but was surprised. She was truly hoping that his father might be alive and well, or dead, but not the atrocity in between.

Jacob reacted in a completely different manner to her actions. He was not only thankful, but he promised he would help her whenever she needed it. 'Friends help each other' is all he said, smiling and walking off. Shepard never thought he'd be proud of a man willingly wearing the insignia of Cerberus. Hell, he even swore he saw Miranda wipe a tear before walking back to her room. _Even the ice from that woman could melt, maybe there's a chance for her after all?_

Aj and Tali seemed to be side by side nearly every moment of the days, which was not unexpected. The two seemed almost inseperable. Honestly, when he had first seen Tali with the guy, he was not only nervous, but felt defensive. He would not let the man hurt his friend in any way. His fears seemed to be for naught, however. Yesterday, he had seen the man drastically change for a moment. A small package had arrived from the Migrant Fleet. It truly changed how he thought of the man, not only as a creation from a disturbing experiment, but as a true emotional person. He still hadn't known much about the man due to the turns of events beforehand.

He was always down in the engine room, and when he wasn't with her, he was helping Mordin any way he could. The commander took the elevator down to give him his surprise.

"Aj" He had called from behind. He had been standing beside Tali typing at the consol almost as fast as she was.

"Yes commander?" He replied jumping from his position. Tali was used to the interruptions moreso, and calmly turned around, even giggling at his giddiness.

"Something came for you today from back home." He handed him a small rectangular package, which was quickly opened.

As soon as Aj fully unwrapped it, he dropped to his knees hugging the small wooden frame. It was only 10 by 10cm, but it obviously meant a lot to him. "Th...thank you Shepard...this...this is the only thing I have left of my family." He was holding the item as though it was a priceless piece of art. To him, it may as well have been.

Tali helped him up, and didn't let go of his hand, but the man was just staring at the picture, moisture around his eyes. Shepard started to continue, "It was sent from Admiral Raan from the fleet. She wishes you and Tali well on our mission, and hopes you both can call her as soon as possible."

"I don't know what to say Shepard, thank you isn't enough." Aj smiled at the commander, Tali still holding his hand. He handed the frame to Shepard for a closer look. "Please be careful though." He added.

"Don't thank me, but her. May I ask, though, how old that picture is? Earth wood isn't often used in that sense." He responded after carefully examining it then handing it back.

"It's, uh... 144 years old sir. It was taken when I was twelve, when I first moved to the North American continent from the Caribbean islands." He hadn't told the commander anything about how old he was, or even how he came to be.

"How the hell are you still alive?" The commander asked shocked, but quickly added. "I mean, not to be rude, but uh, we don't live that long."

"I was floating in space for over a century sir, according to what Admiral Hackett told me, I was the first human to make it through a mass relay. We still don't know how, but well... here I am." He said ending happily. "It's good to be partially metallic I guess" He added awkwardly.

Tali then joined in. "The Migrant Fleet found him floating around near the Raheel-Leyya system aboard a very old shuttle, and well... he was 'dead'. We revived him -she again left out the part about the dissection possibility- and, the rest you know."

The commander was unsure of what was going on, but then EDI chimed in. "The time stamp on the top half of the picture corroberates their statements commander."

"Guess I'll never have a normal crew onboard the Normandy. So, how old are you? Like, before that I guess."

"Well, I had just turned 20 a few month-"

"WHAT?" Tali yelped from beside him. She was obviously not expecting the age.

"Geez Tali, you like them young I see, or old, I don't know which." The commander added smirking.

"I thought it was kind of obvious... really" Aj added slightly blushing.

"Damn... I'm 29 without the two uh... absent years. Guess we share a bit in common. Stick with 20, if you start saying over 100 you might get a few weird looks. Glad to see you got out in one piece though."

Tali still had not spoken. Sighing, he added, "Yeah... my ship exploded, and well... nobody else made it out." He added lowering his head.

Shepard walked up closer and put his hand on the young man's shoulder, "Don't fret about the past, you're here know. My ship did too, but we both have another lease on life now. You've got a lot to live for" He glanced at Tali, who was still speechless "and I'm proud to have you on my crew. But anyways, EDI has a patch on the flotilla whenever you want to talk to Shala. See you two later." His memory ended, but the event continued past his knowledge.

After the commander left, Aj glanced at Tali. "What's wrong with being twenty? Are you younger?" He truly doubted that, but still had to be sure.

"Nothing, it's just, I'm twenty-four Aj..."

"So? If you don't mind, I don't. Remember, we humans are quick at everything. Besides, I'd love you even if you were twice my age." He added with a smirk.

"Keelah, primates! On the fleet, you'd be still barely old enough to start your Pilgrimage!" She retorted with a noticeably quirkier demeanor.

"Well, I found my Pilgrimage, and she has a shotgun!"

She slapped his chest, but was obviously quite happy at his antics. "So, want to talk to Shala?"

"Of course, it's the least we can do. Besides, you know she's worried about you on an entire ship of us 'primates' as you graciously love to call us." He grinned.

"Nope, you're the only one. My primate." She quipped giggling.

"Hah, let's go before I decide to ditch you for a banana." He was still grinning. She paused for a moment, but quickly regained her composure laughing with him.

After a short trek downstairs, Tali lifted up her omnitool and made the request. Shala, albeit a busy woman, answered their call within a minute, to both of their pleasant surprises.

"Tali! Aj! It's good to see you both, I trust you got the package?" She greeted, obviously glad to see they were okay... and together.

"Yes Admiral, and thank you so much. This means a lot to me, I was scared they had gotten rid of it."

"Even on the fleet, Aj, we hold personal possessions such as that in high regard, please think nothing of it. It deserves to be in your hands. And when we're not amongst the rest, call me Shala."

Tali was surprised at her highly positive demeanor. She knew Shala had no racial objections, but she seemed happier than normal.

"Okay Ad-..Shala. Sorry, I'll work on it." He awkwardly replied.

"You're worse than Kal!" Tali remarked, slapping his chest. She immediately froze at the obviously flirting gesture.

"So, I see Kal was correct." Shala stated rather amused.

"Wh... what did he say?" Tali nervously responded. She trusted Kal, but she had no clue what was about to happen.

"He told me you had entered bonded with a human, even reaching hecs'tiyl. You never cease to surprise me Tali." She replied as if it was no big deal.

Tali froze in place although Aj just smiled. _Ff...father...he...will disown me for this, or..._ Shala noticed her body tensing at the response.

"Tali, what's wrong?" Shala asked worried about her. Aj looked at her as well worried as well.

"Father...he...he wi-"

"Tali, your father knows. He is not happy, I will be honest. But, as you both know, Aj is a member of the fleet, and he has the right as well as any other to bond with one. I have never heard of one of us bonding with another species, but humans seem to be very much like us, even physically. We all wish for you to find true happiness."

"He isn't going to disown me?" Tali asked disbelievingly.

"No, but he did wish to make sure you were safe. I can clearly see that is the case. But tell me child, how far along are you?"

"I... I am nearing the final stage, waiting for Aj." She nearly whispered.

"I see, it is none of my business to know more, but if he is the one you are waiting on, I can guess he is making sure you are okay."

"I just, I want to make sure we work. Rushing it will not make our love any truer. The time will come, but I can already tell she and I will be there soon." Aj stated, even though he wasn't fully sure about the paths, he was certain of one thing. His future would always include Tali'Zorah.

"And I can see you have chosen well, or you have changed a human into a quarian, whichever works." Shal replied smirking under her mask.

"I can't believe he isn't yelling for me to get back to the flotilla..." Tali added.

"Keelah Tali, he is your father. He will always be frightful of any male stealing your heart. Being a human male only makes it a little more difficult, but it is not his decision. You chose your lifemate, not your him."

"Does the flotilla know?" Tali asked again slightly nervous.

"No, only me, your father, and Kal. We decided it was best for you to reveal yourselves when you feel ready. I do not think it would be wise to spread such a tale without any proof, and you are currently busy."

"Thank you Auntie..." The now happier quarian exclaimed. "Did you know he is only twenty in human years?"

"TWENTY!?" Shala squealed. "That is incredibly young for a bonding."

"Hey, I'm over a century old. Thank you very much." He interjected with a small sense of...pride?

If he could have seen both of the faces of the women, he would have immediately felt embarrassed or amused...or both.

After a momentary pause, Tali countered, "Shala, he is apparently an adult in human terms, but he still acts like a primate sometimes." She giggled thoroughly afterwards.

"That much was obvious before you both departed for your missions." Shala added; Aj swore he saw one of the head's on the quarian race giggle before him.

"You're just jealous of my 'oh so many digits'. Do you know how many times I was asked how we kept track of them onboard the Neema?" He was the unfortunate source of amusement for two closely-friended quarian females, a terrible situation for any sapient creature.

"It is strange, you have to admit." Tali snidely continued.

Sighing, he grabbed her hand and intertwined the fingers. "At least I can do this" He finished smiling at her.

"Yes, yes you can." She retorted, in a slightly too sultry tone for the Admiral's presence.

"Keelah, you both are worse than newly bonded quarians." She ended with a wave of her hand, but was obviously happy for her 'second daughter'. "I will let you both go, please, be safe. Keelah se'lai." And cut the link.

"So miss Zorah, before you make another quip about these hands." He gently lifted her other hand and kissed it. "I think they look fine together." He was looking at their mingled digits on the one hand.

"I know inszel, but we must go back to work before the two up there cause the core to breakdown" She squeezed his hand, but he let go.

"I will meet you there love, just let me finish one thing down here." He whispered.

"Okay Aj." She added smiling. "Don't take too long!" She practically skipped up the stairs._ Keelah, father and Shala know? I think I owe Kal, maybe a new weapon mod! Perfect! But if he calls me ma'am again...he'd better pray to the ancestors._

Aj checked underneath his bed, and found the bag of cannabis he had stored with his pipe. He hadn't had any privacy, so it remained untouched. He walked over to Zaeed's room, and thankfully, he was not there at the moment. Opening the trash compactor, he placed the bag gently in the container, and pushed the button. The intoxicating herb flew out into space, never to be seen again. He had a new future, one of a truer happiness than any plant could give him. It was one thing to have a picture of his family, a reminder from his past, but the bag represented everything what had caused him to be depressed, or at least his escape from it. It was unneeded, but more importantly, unwanted. His drug of choice was now the freely given love of a certain quarian engineer, and he would not have it any other way. He would not waste this second chance on life for a quick escape from reality.

Shepard was about to call it quits from resource gathering out in the Shrike Abyssal after the three day expendature; he had already upgraded everyone's SMG and Sniper rifles, and increased the penetrative abilities of both the shotguns and assault rifles, so his expendature was not wasted.

Standing at the galaxy map, Kelly startled him suddenly. "Commander, the Illusive Man is calling from the QEC."

Blushing slightly for his jumpiness, he nodded and smiled. The lady had even offered to take care of his beloved aquatic friends in his cabinet, and continued to be extremely helpful. If he didn't know any better, he'd suspect she wasn't even Cerberus.

"Commander Shepard, I have an update for the mission what requires your immediate attention."

"Alright, we're just gathering resources, what've you got for me?" He still would not trust this man, but until the mission was complete, the man had at least gained his good graces for what he'd given for his life, but the species as a whole. Rear Admiral Kahoku would never be forgotten, however, as would the thorian.

"One of the recruits I mentioned has appeared. She is currently in transit towards Omega, but I am unsure why. Before you meet with her, I should warn you. he is a justicar, a servant of justice among her people. I recommend keeping true to your nature around the woman, but her kind are usually willing to take on impossible causes. Thankfully, we have that covered." The man actually smiled, not a fake 'do as I say or I'll kill you' but a real one. "I believe her abilities would greatly aid the mission, but they do not normally go out of asari space for unimportant tasks. Be careful out there Shepard, but I know you can get this done." The man cut the communication afterwards.

"EDI can you-"

"I have already informed Joker commander, he has diverted course to Omega. Eta is approximately 3 hours." She interrupted, getting the commander to smile.

"Thanks EDI, I'll be in my cabin waiting. Can you please send me anything you have on justicars? I'd prefer to stay on her good side."

"I will send any information I can find to your private terminal commander, and you are welcome."

"You know EDI, you're really showing yourself as a valuable asset to the team. I've come to consider you a crew member, albeit not as tangible as the rest." He added traveling up the elevator.

"Thank you commander. I will continue to help in any way possible." EDI just then calculated all the possible ramifications of the statement and settled on one thing. Shepard always stated he would need to trust someone before he would call them truly part of his crew. The commander was beginning to trust her, an AI, something he had fought countless times. She would make sure to keep true to the crew. This was not something freely given, but through actions alone.

The Normandy quickly was heading towards Omega, only time would tell if meeting a justicar was a wise decision.


	25. Beautiful Dance of Death

_Your day has come, your time draws near. No longer will the souls of the innocent succumb to your lustful whims, only to be torn asunder as a used toy. You were always my pride and joy, young daughter of mine. Your gifts of strength and cunning would rival any one of my own kind. You left your home, to kill and slaughter. You are the reason I have pledged this oath. I will avenge the losses of the many, so peace may insue. I will always love you my daughter, but today you must meet the goddess my dear Morinth. _Leaving the office lookout of Aria T'loak, a powerful asari warrior headed off to find the latest victim, and to destroy her own flesh and blood.

Shepard had just landed on Omega, bringing a few squad members to aid him in finding this powerful recruit. Mordin asked politely to go check on his clinic in the spare time, and the commander agreed it was a good idea. The salarian went off to make sure the people were safe. At that moment, he was no longer Mordin Solus, retired STG agent and esteemed tacticion on the battlefield, but Dr. Solus, the protector of the needy, healer of the sick, and defender of the right to live.

Shepard brought along Garrus, Aj, Tali, and Zaeed. He was planning on bringing Grunt, also, but the krogan seemed... different. Grunt admitted to the commander he was feeling strange, and asked EDI to provide him with whatever combat simulations might aid him until he returned.

Stepping out of the airlock, EDI updated the squad. "Due to the nature of justicar endeavors among the asari, commander, I believe Aria T'loak may have information on her whereabouts. Also, reports indicate the mercenaries believe Archangel was killed in the subsequent destruction of the outpost."

"Huh, works for me." Garrus added wryly.

The group went up to the doorway of Afterlife, bypassing the normal line. Aj and Tali were holding hands, getting a few strange looks, but nothing confrentational. Everything seemed fine until...

"YOU'RE LETTING A FUCKING QUARIAN IN BUT I HAVE TO WAIT?" The man in front of the line screamed in disgust.

Shepard was about to break the man's face for insulting Tali, but saw Aj had already gotten to him first.

"What the fuck did you just say you little runt?" He growled at the man.

The man cockily continued, "Oh, so you're screwing the damn anima-"

Aj grabbed him by his throat and lifted him with one hand. The elcor bouncer was getting sick of the man anyway, and didn't comment on the events. He was slowly squeezing down on the man's windpipe, choking the life out of him. A metallic endoskeleton with sheets of subdermal protection weighed a lot, and had slowly been naturally increasing the man's normal muscular strength.

"You want to repeat that chicken shit?"

The statement caused a bit of confusion among the turian, elcor, and nearby asari watching the scene. A 'chicken' was not a commonly known bird at this day and age. However, the slight amount of sparks crackling from his face did cause a few people to step back. Shepard was going to stop him, but he had no sympathy for the man, especially after degrading his friend.

The man spit in his face. "You're not going to do shit kid. Aria doesn't le-"

Unfortunately, the man had not learned his lesson, and was thrown off the side of the balcony. Wherever he landed, undoubtedly it was not at a safe speed of descent. The rest of the line was silent, but the bouncer commented.

"Amused: Please enjoy your time at the bar, but do not continue this line of activity."

Aj had never talked to an elcor, and was momentarily surprised by the monotone speech, but decided it wasn't looking to defend the bastard, just doing its job. "Yeah, I won't. Just one less asshole to worry about." For some reason, he had a very difficult time shaking an audio memory of a mysterious Ben Stein from his mind.

He walked back over to Tali and held her hand. "Aj, you don't need to do that." She said quietly.

Aj just shook his head and walked with her and the group down the hallway. The rest of the club either had not payed attention, or didn't really care. Afterlife was not known for its civil clientel.

The group walked up to Aria's perch. The bodyguards noticed the leader of the group, Shepard, and decided it was safer to just let them pass. Walking up to the batarian, the commander still had to get scanned for security, but it was quicker and less tense than the first time.

"Commander Shepard, what brings you back to Omega?" Aria looked at him with an expressionless face, and quickly glanced at Garrus. "And Archangel I see. Well, you're dead around here. I'd keep it that way."

"Yeah, it's Garrus now." The turian replied, equally stoic.

"Very well. Now, to business." She motioned to the couch, where Shepard casually sat.

"I'm looking for an asari warrior. I believe she may have visited you."

The normally stoic Aria actually smirked slightly. "You're never simple Shepard, I'll give you that. She was just here a few minutes ago, and headed down to the apartments. All she told me was she was hunting an Ardat Yakshi. Hell, as long as she doesn't go all 'Archangel' " she scowled at Garrus, but continued, "here, she'll be doing me a favor. Her latest victim lived down there, a young human woman."

"What's an Ardat Yakshi?" Shepard asked a bit confused.

"A genetically mutated asari. Not physically, but when they meld with another, their nervous systems override their partner's. It always ends up killing the unfortunate acquaintance."

"Oh...well, that's great. I wanted to ask one last thing, and I'll be out of your hair... er scalp."

She shook her head at his misplaced idiom, but looked at him expectantly.

"My squadmate, Zaeed, has been looking for someone..." At the mention of his name, he immediatey tuned into the rest of the sentence. He had been talking to the batarian guard about the best way to take down a krogan, but turned to face the two. Shepard looked at the man and nodded.

Stepping forward, Zaeed growled, "Vido Santiago."

"Massani?" She looked at him with a curious look, then back at Shepard. "You humans are a tenacious bunch, I'll give you that. He sold me some weapons he 'acquired' recently. I'll send you what I've got on him when you leave Omega. He's got too many moles on this station to risk it while you stay." Zaeed's feral grin would scare most people, but it only caused the asari hellraiser to grin right back.

"Thanks for the help Aria, here's a little something for your trouble, eh?" Shepard decided to give her the schematics for the new L5x implant upgrade he had gotten from Cerberus. He needed this lady alive, so far she'd given him information what would have been damn near impossible to acquire elsewhere.

"Interesting, a pleasure as always Shepard. Do keep from killing any more of my patrons, however." She gave Aj a knowing eyebrow, to which he responded by shrugging.

The group left the perch, and Shepard couldn't help but laugh. "What's so funny Shepard?" Garrus added, the looks the rest of the squad gave him seemed to agree with the sentiment.

"Well, we've got the Illusive Man and Aria T'loak as our two best informants. Hell of a way to get shit done in my book." He grinned, but secretly felt uncomfortable at the thought.

"Bitch won't screw ya over if you keep to your words, believe it or not." Zaeed added.

The odd conglomerate of fighters made their way to an apartment near a raging lunatic batarian. Turning the corner, they saw a hooded asari in intricate armor entering their goal.

"Ma'am!" Shepard yelled out, and the asari turned, still shielding her face much like Kasumi did. The five walked towards her.

Samara saw three humans, a quarian, and a turian, all heavily armed walk towards her. She immediately took a defensive stance, and glowed a firey blue.

The four squadmates paused at the woman's gesture. After hearing that she was an over 900 year old warrior who'd kill anyone hampering her pursuit of justice, none were too thrilled to attack. Shepard continued forward, and held up his hands, weaponless. Either he was brave or stupid.

"We are not here to harm you justicar." Shepard stated. The woman's blue faded, and she quickly strided over towards Shepard. The rest of the group put their hands on their weapons, but did not want to actively threaten the women unless necessary, under Shepard's orders.

The woman got close, and he could finally make out a bit of her face. She was stunning, even for her kind. Her eyes were a light shade of blue, and her face had a serene calmness which momentarily caused the commander to lose his voice. "Do not speak of those positions here, human. Who are you?" The asari whispered but remained in a defensive stance.

He whispered right back, only a few feet from the woman's face. "Commander John Shepard."

The woman looked at the group, who seemed tense, but had not actively fired. She assumed they were either not here to kill her, as the human Shepard had said, or there to take her alive, which would not happen. The name suddenly struck her, the one who'd saved the Citadel...reported dead. The savior of the council, the protector of the galaxy. She relaxed slightly. Noticing the hall they were in was devoid of life, and the prophet was speaking loud enough to clear any eavesdroppers, she decided to test the merit of the man's claims.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, and Garrus Vakarian?" She stated slightly louder, looking at the two non-humans in the group.

The turian nodded, and the quarian hesitantly spoke up. "Uhm, ma'am, it's vas Neema now. I completed my Pilgrimage." She noticed the girl was holding on to a larger human's hand, and could not help but smile a little. She fully relaxed her position, and noticed the group behind Shepard did the same. She deduced that she was not going to be attacked by the group.

"I see. What do you require of me. I am currenty busy with a serious matter." She said back to a lower whisper.

"We need your assistance on a mission of our own." Shepard stated calmly. He noticed she was not nearly as defensive.

"What is your objective?"

"To stop the Collectors. The ones abducting the human colonies. We need your help Samara." He stated matter-of-factly.

Her eyes got slightly wider at the fact they knew her name, but from a man as influential as this, it was to be expected. "That is a worthy goal, but...I cannot until I finish my current mission." She replied with a noticeably somber tone.

"Can my team and I assist? We know the basics of your mission, and I believe it should be completed as well."

Samara had been thinking of a thousand different ways to draw out her daughter, but had found none. There was no current way to locate her daughter by herself. She needed a willing volunteer, one who was powerful, physically appealing, and cunning. Shepard was her answer. The goddess had given her the candle, and now she must light the flame.

"You may be able to help, Shepard. She is drawn by people of power, strength, and intelligence. But I must search this apartment for clues." She motioned to the room nearby, and the team followed suit. The justicar was not used to dealing with aliens, but none of them seemed to be in any aggressive stances. Centuries of confrentation had taught her much, and she felt...safe...within this odd group.

A woman was crying on the bed when they entered. "Are... are you Aria's men?"

Samara calmly stated, "We are here to find and eliminate your daughters killer."

The woman smiled behind her tears, but it faded quickly. "My...Nef...she...she..."

Shepard walked up and embraced the woman, who gratefully returned it. Samara was not expecting this kind of compassion from a trained killer such as this man, but did not interfere. "We'll make sure whoever did this is brought to justice. We wanted to ask permission to search her room for clues." He whispered and released the hug.

"Please...whatever you need...just be careful...it's all I have left of her..." The woman said.

"We will be respectful." Samara stated coolly.

The group sifted through the small room. In it, they found she prefered an elcor artist named Forta, a vid called Vaenia, and often took the drug Hallex. Most importantly, they learned the prowled the Afterlife's VIP section, and to enter, one must say Jaruut.

Samara and the group thanked the grieving mother and departed the apartment.

"Shepard, I believe this mission will require you to be alone; I will have to watch from the shadows."

The group tensed up, and awaited Shepard's decision. _Alone? Fuck...But it's a justicar... She wouldn't attack someone trying to help her on her own mission, right? Damn._

"Zaeed, you and Garrus go down to the regular section of Afterlife just in case. Aj and Tali, please wait by the airlock for support if need be." He looked over at Samara. "Think that'll be okay?"

The justicar nodded. "As long as your two squad mates in the bar do not cause suspicion, the plan will proceed accordingly. I will meet you inside the section, commander. Please be cautious."

The group departed, and Shepard decided to shop for a few minutes to give Samara a lead. After actually buying a copy of Fornax for Joker, he headed towards the stairs leading to the VIP area.

An armed turian was guarding the entrance, and looked at him expectantly as he walked up.

Shepard calmly stated, "Someone told me this is the place to be on this rock."

"Oh yeah? Sounds like a smart guy, who was he?" The turian asked coyly.

"Jaruut." The turian motioned him in without another word.

As he walked inside, he noticed a blue hand wave at him from behind some crates. Carefully, he walked over and was relieved to see it was Samara.

"Good job, I do not believe we have aroused any suspicion."

"Hope not, so what's the plan?" He asked.

"She will be drawn to you, and you must act interested. We will need her to bring you someplace out of the open, or she will escape for another fifty years or more." The justicar added, getting weaker towards the end.

Shepard put his arm on her shoulder, and the woman immediately tensed up, meeting his eyes. "Samara, do not worry. We will stop this murderer. I assume you want me to be the bait? So you'll follow me to wherever we head?" He removed his hand, and her eyes did not break contact with his.

"Please be careful Shepard, her body will speak to you, warming you to indescribable pleasures, her scent can even drive the weaker minded crazy with infatuation. You must resist her grasp, or you'll succumb to her seduction." Her voice did not carry any emotion whatsoever now.

_Damn, an incredibly sexy lady what will kill you with sex. Sounds like a horror movie..._ "I will not fall, do not worry." He turned to go, but stopped when she spoke again, much more softly.

"Shepard, thank you. I could not do this alone, and I do not think anyone else would be willing to aid me." She ended with a minute hint of remorse.

Shepard nodded with a small smile, but noticed the woman seemed...sad?...at the end of her statement. It did not seem to be from the lack of assistance, but something deeper.

Walking into the bar, he immediately heard a conversation being held. 'Do you know that asari?' 'Yeah, she's damn fine, what about her?' 'I need to get tickets to Expel 10, she seemed interested in it.' 'You sound kind of desperate dude.' 'I know, but I just can't stop thinking about her, I don't know why.' 'Well, good luck, but sorry, I don't have any tickets.'

He made a mental note that it was likely the same asari he was looking for due to the frantic disposition of the man searching. He walked up to the dance floor to a turian glaring at an asari maiden.

"Want to come to my place? I've got some creds..." The turian trailed off, stepping near her.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She pushed him away angrily. "I'm a dancer not a whore!"

The turian walked up to her and grabbed her by the throat. "You've got a pretty mouth babe, I'm going to enjoy watching you use it."

Shepard walked up to the turian and pushed him off. "Get the hell out of here kid."

The turian scowled at him and approached, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" The man swung a punch at Shepard, who casually dodged it. A punch right to his nasal orifice caused the turian to stumble back. A kick to the side of his knees dropped the man to the ground, still clutching his nose.

"Now, you either get away from her, or I'll rip your goddamn scales off one by one." Shepard proclaimed with his commanding tone. Even the dancer got slightly nervous. The turian got up immediately and ran off without a word.

"Th...thanks...sir..." He heard the woman barely audibly say behind him. He turned around with a smile.

"Sorry about that asshole, care for a dance?" He said in a much more comforting tone.

The asari went from a near terrified facade to returning the smile happily. "Sure!" She got close to him and started her 'special' dances.

Shepard was normally a horrendous dancer, in fact, he was infamous for his lack of the skill. Thankfully, a very grateful, and more skilled, partner made him look much better than he actually was. The dance ended with a soft kiss from the 'young' lady. "Please, come back again soon!" The girl replied with a smile. _Wow, asari's can dance, and very sweet tasting lips...Garrus was right. Hah, I owe him a drink._

After the session with the dancer, he decided to visit the bar, and noticed it was oddly empty. When the bartender walked over to him, Shepard exclaimed, "Seems empty here."

The batarian bartender sighed, "Yeah, most of the people here are out on Hallex, once they get to drinking they know they won't stop."

Shepard thought of a cunning scheme to get attention, the good kind. "Here's 250 creds, treat the people to a free round." He finished and handed the surprised man the chit.

"Oh... of course!" The batarian announced to the nearby crowd, "Free round of drinks, on the house for the next minute! First come first serve!"

Immediately a crowd gathered at the bar, and the batarian thoroughly thanked the human. _First a man takes a drink. Then the drink takes a drink. Then the drink takes the man._

He still hadn't seen any asari besides the dancers, and decided to walk around to see if he could find her. A short trek from the bar though, he heard two turians trying to be stealthy.

'Think we have some easy pickings tonight Frekt?'

'Yeah, easy creds for the boss tonight'

'Just wait till they're drunk, it'll be even easier'

The second turian snickered, but they both glared at Shepard when he approached.

"What do you want human?" 'Frekt' growled.

"You to stop whatever you're planning." He stated nonchalantly.

"Or what?" The second retorted amused, also standing.

"Or I'll stop you." Shepard cracked his knuckles.

"Tough guy huh?" The first said while also standing, "You're noth-" He was cut off by a swift side-kick right to the stomach, collapsing him to the ground. The second aimed a punch, but Shepard ducked and hip tossed him quite painfully into the ground. Both were gasping for air.

"Try that shit again and I won't go easy." He walked away.

Deciding to take a quick break, he sat at a slightly secluded table. Seemingly out of nowhere, a beautiful asari lady casually sat with him.

"Hey there" She stated smiling.

_Oh shit, she looks oddly a lot like Samara. It's gotta be her...I hope._ "Hey babe, whatcha need?"

She put her arms on the table and looked right at his eyes. Thankfully, he had hidden his thoughts. "Just watched you over there, you're a tough guy?"

_Violence...violence...remember...violence._ "Those guys aren't shit. I'd prefer a real fight anyday."

"Oh? That's interesting, so you like danger I see." She seemed to be pleased with the response. "Why would a guy like you be here?"

_What does she like...art...music...Hallex!_ "Only place to listen to some decent music and enjoy the good stuff."

"Do you mean Hallex?" She replied winking.

"What, you been spying on me?" He asked coyly raising an eyebrow.

She smiled and shook her head, "Nope! I just like to meet new people. You said music too? I love the kind what reaches into my soul, makes me want to fight, and brings out the fire in me. It brings out the animal from within." She said slightly seductively. Her scent was as invigorating as Samara had warned.

"Seems we share a bit in common, but I like the power it brings out in me. Expel 10's the new stuff I'm starting to like." He replied mischeviously.

"Ooh, good choice. Music's okay, I'm a fan of real art myself." Her eyes were starting to become softer, more...welcoming...

He quickly threw away the thoughts and focused on the question. "Oh? I know Forta's a phenomenol artist. Though vids are nice too."

Her eyes started to shine, she was as seductive as she was beautiful...and her body language, she was screaming for him..."I agree! What vid could possibly compare to his works though?"

"Only one, Vaenia." He replied winking.

She got up and reached for his hand. "Come on, let's go to my place, I've got lots to...show you." She said in an obviously sultry tone. They walked out hand in hand.

Samara had been watching from the shadows, stalking her prey. _The time has come my daughter. I will avenge your victims, and I will have only Shepard to thank. Goddess, please help him as I send you my own blood._

When they entered the apartment, they sat beside each other on the couch. "So, before I show you anything, I wanted to know something about you." She asked.

"Hmm?" He had been doing his best not to focus on her body, her eyes were screaming for his, he wanted the woman, even her own scent was driving him crazy with desire.

"What do you..." She gently placed her hand on his thigh "want to do?"

_Fight...fight...fight...damnit...no._ "I think we both know the answer to that." _ FUCK NO NO NO NO! Damnit!_

She giggled, and looked at him right in the eyes. Suddenly, they went black. Darkness. He could not pull away. Resistance was near impossible. Their blackness was all he could focus on. Her face was all he could see, the room was dark. "Tell me you'd do anything for me. Tell me you'd kill for me."

His mind had nearly lost it, but one image in his mind stopped him. He saw Samara's face staring at him instead of the demon before him. They looked so alike, but different. She was so beautiful... So much like this woman's, but the calm, serene beauty only a truly selfless individual could attain. The Ardat Yakshi's face immediatey contorted to the evil manifestation of what she was. She was a killer. "NO!" He got up and yelled.

"WHAT?" She screamed back at him.

His savior appeared at the moment, the stunning ancient warrior from his vision. Samara strode into the room, staring at her daughter.

"So the bitch found herself a hel-" She was cut off by a biotic push into the wall, cracking the glass. Morinth glared back at her. "Mother."

_Mother!? This is Samara's daughter!? That's why she looked so much like..._Samara screamed back at her. "DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" She strode closer to her child. Shepard stepped out of the way.

"I can't stop being your daughter, mother." She used her own power and pulsed the justicar away from her, nearly causing her to fall. The Ardat Yakshi was a powerful biotic.

"You chose your own fate." She said walking towards Morinth again.

"Choice? To live in seclusion for my entire life? NO!" She charged at Samara biotics flaring from her hands.

Samara's hands did much the same, and they both seemed locked in a stalemate. For a woman to be as powerful as Samara was breathtaking. For a split-second, he almost considered aiding the daughter. Her power would be a great asset to the mission...

His biotics were likely not of the same caliber, but he had to try. He used all of the rage he could build up. _This woman is a serial killer, a monster! She has to die! TO HELL WITH THIS! _He biotically charged the Ardat Yakshi, risking his own life to end her despicable being.

Morinth looked a moment too late, and his charge succeeded in knocking him to the ground; Samara's biotics, however, pushed him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. The room was fuzzy, but he could make out the scene.

Samara calmly walked towards the woman, frantically crawling on her back away from her mother. There was no escape.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess my daughter. I always loved you." Her hand pulsed with a similar energy as before, and slammed into Morinth's face. He heard a loud crack, and the woman on the ground fell limp. Morinth was dead.


	26. Bloody Waltz of Revenge

He was exhausted, and closed his eyes. Samara's power was definitely a force to be known. Shepard was about to pass out when he heard his name.

"Shepard? Are you alright?" A familiar voice spoke out to him. He barely had the air in his lungs to stay concious, much less speak.

"Please, get up Shepard." The voice sounded more worried. He reached out his hand to where the voice came from, and felt a hand grasp his. Lifting him up with surprising strength, he struggled to keep his footing. Opening his eyes, he saw Samara holding his shoulders, keeping him steady. Her face conveyed the panic she was experiencing; she did not wish an innocent to die for her cause.

"I'm okay...I'm ok-" But suddenly the blackness returned, and he collapsed to the ground.

Samara found his false bravado both admirable and childish at the same time. She used her biotics and lifted the unconcious human over her shoulders as gingerly as possible.

It wasn't a long walk back to Afterlife, and she found Garrus and the other human, Zaeed if she recalled correctly, standing by the entrance. When they saw her they sprinted over.

"What the hell happened?" Garrus exclaimed with a slight amount of anger.

"He is okay, he was knocked unconcious during the fight." She calmly replied. "Where do we go? I agree to aid your mission, as he faithfully assisted me with mine."

Garrus and Zaeed motioned her to follow them. The walk back to the Normandy was also short, and she saw the other two from earlier standing by an airlock.

"Is Shepard alright?" Tali exclaimed running up to the justicar; the other human was right behind her. Tali pulled out her omnitool and scanned him while Samara continued to walk towards the ship. "Keelah.. he's okay..."

Down in the clinic, Mordin was preparing to leave, but Daniel had one last thing to say. "Dr. Solus, you received a secure transmission from the salarian government shortly after you left. They asked me to give it to you as soon as possible." The assistant typed a few things into his omnitool and sent it to the professor. Mordin opened it and typed in his old STG passcode, which caused the rest of the message to open. It was short, but had dire implications. 'Dr. Solus, we have been informed of your current affiliations with Commander Shepard. Reports show your old student Maelon is currently on Tuchanka being forced to work on a cure for the genophage. We request that you inform him and investigate as soon as possible.' The message did not state how to fix the problem, but it was obvious why they would ask Shepard's assistance as well. The salarian read the message twice just to be certain, and sprinted out of the clinic. He had to inform the commander.

At nearly the same time, Aria saw the camera feeds; she knew Shepard wouldn't die from anything short of a supernovae. She forwarded the last known location of Vido Santiago to her old friend Zaeed, one of the few other humans she had actually enjoyed to work with.

After entering the ship, Samara followed Garrus to the med bay. Dr. Chakwas saw him being carried into the ship and had her facility ready within seconds. The asari gently put him down on the bed.

The two remained silent while Dr. Chakwas scanned his body, and with a more thorough medical eye, looked back up smiling. Garrus nodded and left. "He's fine, just needs a little bit of rest." She stuck out her hand towards the justicar, who shook it after a brief hesitation. "I'm doctor Chakwas, ma'am, I assume you're Samara?" After a nod, she continued, "If you'll allow me to scan you, I would prefer to have a healthy readout of all my possible patients for reference."

While she was scanning the asari, Shepard woke up. "Dr. Chakwas? Am I alright?" He sat up, albeit slowly.

"Oh you're awake, good. I was just scanning your new recruit. You're fine, just get some rest soon." The doctor replied smiling.

"Okay, do you mind if I have a minute with her, doc?" She nodded and left the room.

"Commander, thank you for your assistance. It would have been nearly impossible without your aid."

"It's fine Samara, thanks for saving me. She was as bad as you said, and then some. Will you be able to join me on my mission now?"

"The Collectors are a worthy opponent, but there is something I must do before I can serve with you to fulfill the Code." She stated.

Shepard was about to ask what else she could possibly want when she knelt down in front of him, her entire body glowing much as if covered with blue flames. "I swear an oath to you, Commander Shepard. During our missions, your word is my word, your actions are my actions. Until our mission is complete, I will serve you to my utmost ability." She stood up and added. "If you do anything unnecessarily dishonorable after my oath to you is complete, I may have to kill you."

He was shocked at the sudden turn of events, but was humbled nonetheless. "I'm honored Samara, I can tell this means a lot. And do not worry, I do not serve your code, but on my ship we do not harm innocents, we protect them. We will need you to accomplish this, and I'm proud to have you on board."

Pausing for a moment, Shepard continued, "I am sorry you had to kill your daughter..." he looked at the ground, unsure how to voice his sorrow at the irony.

She sat beside him and shook her head. "Do not pity me. I accepted my daughter's fate over four centuries ago, Commander. I do not regret what has happened, but she left me no choice. I had always been...proud...of her."

"I understand." He said without much conviction, and decided to change the subject. "I'm thinking of where to quarter you."

"I'd prefer an area to view the vastness of space, if possible." She requested.

"The Observation deck has an open view of space Commander." EDI interrupted popping up on the nearby terminal.

"Thanks EDI, that's an excellent suggestion." He looked back at Samara who was staring at the hologram. "EDI is the onboard AI. I know what you're thinking about the geth and genocide and all that rather unpleasant stuff, but she has proven herself a loyal member of the team."

"I see. I will trust your judgement on...her, Shepard. It is odd you have designated a synthetic a gender." She inquisitively suggested.

_That's... true actually. Why do I call EDI a her? Hmm..._ "When I refer to 'it', I feel as though I'm refering to a piece of hardware. EDI is fully self-aware, and her body is the Normandy. And for the specific gender, most ships are called by a feminine designator."

"That is... odd, but logical. You must trust her for that sort of thought."

"I do. She's a valuable crew member, and has never let me down. Now, do you wish for me to show you to your quarters?"

"Yes if it isn't too much of a trouble. I wish to meditate on today's events."

Unknown to the two, EDI felt a data influx she could only describe as 'pride'. She was not just a piece of machinery to her commander. She was an actual sapient in his eyes. She would continue to serve him in any way possible. She would never let him down, as he stated himself.

After a rather short walk to her new quarters, she bid him farewell, and began her meditations. Shepard did not know it, but the justicar had already developed an important opinion of the commander. He trusted his crew, more than just as assets, but to their individualities. She was at peace, and it was all thanks to his help.

Shepard walked out of the room, and nearly ran into Zaeed who had just came up.

"Shepard, Aria just sent me the information on Vido. He's on a ship called the MSV Strontium Mule." The man said with a noticeable grin. He lifted the omnitool and showed the commander its current coordinates. "It's right here in the area Shepard, the Arinlarkan system!"

"EDI, mind telling Joker?"

"Already done, commander. Dr. Solus informed me he was on his way back to the ship."

Zaeed nodded. "I'll be down in my quarters." He hopped back in the elevator with Shepard down to deck four. Zaeed was not a religious man, but he did his own type of meditation. Now was his chance, Shepard had not only fought to get him once, but had helped him track him down again. The man knew how to do one thing, instill a true unity into his team, even with the odd group he had gathered. He wasn't going to fuck this one up this time. It was time for revenge.

Shepard decided to visit Grunt down in his post, the krogan had been a real asset to the team, and he wanted him to be in tip top shape. He found the young warrior pacing the deck, grumbling.

"Shepard."

"Grunt. How are you feeling now?" He asked.

"Angry, but different."

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to...graah!" He punched the wall, causing a small dent. "See? I can't control it. I just want to kill something, but I don't know what!"

"EDI, any information on what might be happening?"

"No commander. Dr. Solus has just arrived, and he may have more information. Should I ask him to come down?"

"Yes please, and thank you."

Grunt nodded and began pacing the deck. Less than a minute later, Mordin came by; he looked more worked up than normal.

"Mordin, any idea what's going on with Grunt?"

The salarian quickly activated his omnitool, and after a few moments looked up. "Nothing wrong with him. Enhanced hormone levels. Do not know of a 'cure' for the ailment, as the krogan are secular about their medical problems. Most information does not leave their homeworld."

"So we need to go to Tuchanka? That's fine." He looked at Grunt. "If you can hold out a little longer, we've got one mission to take first. You can come too, there'll be undoubtedly killing. Then we can make a stop there."

"Yes battlemaster. I could use a good fight first." Grunt said with a grin.

Mordin and Shepard exited the room, but the doctor added. "STG contacted me. Old acquaintance possibly in trouble, abducted by krogan. Wish to investigate. Is on Tuchanka as well."

"That works out great then, we'll get these two things sorted out as soon as we're done on this raid we have planned." The commander said happily. _ Two birds with one stone. The STG wouldn't ask for assistance for anything minor anyways._

Mordin did not often show excitement, but he was ecstatic at the quick acceptance. He hoped his old underling was not in any major trouble. A cure for the genophage at this moment could possibly destabilize the entire galaxy. Shepard would fight to protect this at any costs, hopefully.

The trip to the system took less than an hour, and he called the team to the debriefing room. He called up Grunt along with Miranda and Kasumi. He did not want his closest friends to see what may occur ahead. Zaeed was already armored up and ready as soon as the ship had left Omega's dock.

"Alright everyone, this is an infiltration mission. Kasumi will be our tech, us four will have one simple goal." He paused and looked around. "Search and destroy." This was much to the satisfaction of Grunt and Zaeed, and Miranda nodded in understanding. "This ship has the head of the Blue Suns onboard, and Cerberus sent us another packet detailing it had valuable cargo. After all hostiles are eliminated, we will secure the cargo."

EDI chimed in after his short speech. "Commander, we are a few minutes away. I have disabled their engines, and have access to only one hatch in their cargo bay. It will provide a suitable entryway for your team."

"Okay" He looked right at the mercenary. "We have him Zaeed, don't do anything stupid. Anyone else who sees Vido do not, I repeat, do not use lethal force. He is not our objective, he is his" He motioned at Zaeed. "But if he attempts to escape, feel free to shoot out his knees." The group prepared accordingly. Due to the close quarters, Grunt and Shepard reluctantly left their beam rifles on the Normandy. Everyone on this mission was equipping incindiery ammo except Kasumi with her normal disrupter ammo.

As soon as the Kodiak latched and they exited, they were met with eight troopers. Kasumi quickly tossed a flashbang, stunning the idiotically close group. Zaeed laughed and shot one's head clear off with his Mantis, while Miranda and Shepard slammed two into the ground. Grunt charged and killed the two nearest with close range Eviscerator shots; they were a pile of ashes in moments. Zaeed took down another in the chest this time, burting him into flames. By the time the last two regained their composure, they found out why the Locust killed two presidents, both Miranda and Kasumi slaughtered the duo.

Running forward into a small hallway, another group, this time of five, popped up. Miranda threw a warp at one, then rained hell burning him to bits, while Zaeed threw an incendiary grenade, killing three. Shepard took down the last one with his Revenant.

They noticed there was two stairwells, and he sent Miranda and Zaeed up one, while he and Kasumi went up the other. Miranda and Zaeed ran into three more Blue Suns in a room. There were dead noncombatants everywhere, disgusting both of them. Zaeed shot one at close range with his Mantis, and charged another with his knife, tackling and slitting his throat. Miranda slammed the other into the wall and shot him in the chest multiple times.

"Miranda and Zaeed here, rendesvous at your position, dead end here, out."

"Understood, no hostiles yet here."

At the second he switched off his coms, five troopers and one heavily shielded engineer popped up. Shepard and Grunt looked at each other and nodded. They charged the group head on, raining hell. Kasumi took down two of the troopers with her Locust from afar. Grunt punched the engineer right in the chest, his own shields survived the human's single shotgun burst. Unfortunately for the engineer, shields did not protect against brute force. His chest collapsed, and Grunt stomped on his face, killing him. Shepard had biotically pushed another, which crumpled in the same fashion, and mowed down the other two with his Revenant. They were both lucky, however, that Cerberus had provided resources ensuring their shields were as powerful as possible. Kasumi walked up to them and shook her head, but she actually had a grin.

"You know, you two are perfect shields. I never even get shot at!" She quipped.

"One shot and you'd fall dead anyways" Grunt retorted with a grin of his own.

Kasumi huffed in disapproval, while Shepard just laughed. "Gee thanks Grunt, I'll remember that next time I see ryncol up for grabs."

Grunt seemed deep in thought for a moment, but Zaeed and Miranda appeared before he could provide rebuttal. The group began walking to a door with two hallways on each side.

"Commander, all life signs are now situated in the room ahead. I am counting 12 human beings, two of them are extremely heavily shielded." EDI said through the com.

"More shields just means more shooting." Zaeed grumbled, Grunt agreed.

Over the ship's com, a person yelled. "I don't know who you are, but you think you can fuck with the head of the Blue Suns? Come in here and you're as good as dead!"

Zaeed's eyes changed from amusement to pure rage. "That's the son of a bitch!"

"Remember everyone, disable Vido." Shepard chimed.

"I have located the individual who spoke recently, and added his target to your omnitools." EDI interjected again.

When they got to the door, Shepard nodded at Kasumi. She typed away at her omnitool for a little longer than normal, but the door's indicator turned green once she got up.

When the door opened, Zaeed tossed an incendiary grenade opposite of Vido's indicator while Kasumi threw a flashbang right at it. The group hid behind the nearby over by the door.

The incendiary took out two quickly, and the flashbang disabled a group nearby. Shepard and Grunt mowed down four of them at close range. Miranda focused on one of the heavily shielded individuals, and overloaded the shields. A quick burst from her Locust impacted his skull, cooking his brain to a crisp. Zaeed had blown off one's torso from his hips with an accuratly placed round.

One of the heavily shielded personel was in fact Vido, but surprisingly, Zaeed kept his cool for now,and aimed another shot at a common trooper. His headless body slumped to the ground soon thereafter, while Zaeed took cover to reload. Grunt charged one and ripped his arm off, then beat him to death with it, while Kasumi and Shepard rained hell on the other. Only Vido was left.

Miranda quickly overloaded his shields and left the room. Kasumi knew this wouldn't be a pleasant scene either, and followed Miranda. Shepard and Grunt slowly walked towards the man.

"I surrender!" Vido screamed dropping his rifle and raising up his hands.

Grunt walked right up to the man and laughed, picked up the dropped rifle, and snapped it in half. When Zaeed popped out of cover, he glared right at the man.

Vido saw him and immediately tried to run away, but Shepard threw him against the wall. It wasn't hard enough to break any bones, however.

"Za...Zaeed, I can give you anything you want, anything!" The man pleaded from the ground as the mercenary slowly walked towards him. Grunt stepped back to prevent his escape, with Shepard right beside him.

Zaeed lifted his pistol, and aimed at the man's head. He had a grin on his face to rival any krogans. "I've got a better idea." He aimed towards Vido's genitalia and pulled the trigger.

The man's scream penetrated the air, only causing Grunt to laugh in amusement. Shepard walked away towards the women, satisfied the mission would be complete. Although none of the three wished to be directly involved in the torture, they were not too pleased with the sounds they heard.

Zaeed looked at the krogan eagerly behind him and motioned him over, pointing at the crying man's legs. Zaeed stomped on the man's arms, breaking them with his heavy boot. Grunt did the same with both of his legs.

The man was nearing the point of fainting from the pain, and both of them knew it. Zaeed looked at Grunt again.

"Grunt, if there's one thing I want you to learn, it's how to make sure the job's done." He pulled out an incendiary grenade. "Know how to cut a hole in a person?" He handed the young krogan a knife.

Grunt nodded in approval and stabbed the man's belly, carving out a small hole in his intestines. Zaeed activated the grenade and shoved it inside. The duo jogged away with grins on their faces. They met up with the other three outside the door.

The remains of Vido Santiago were no more than a pile of ashes and a few blood stains.

"You two done?" Shepard asked emotionless. Both nodded. "Vido was killed, no more needs to be elaborated upon to anyone outside this ship, including you EDI."

"You got it Shepard." Zaeed had a look on his face he had never had before, a true smile.

"Yes battlemaster." Grunt replied grinning.

"Understood commander." EDI responded.

They backtracked down the stairs and into a door which led to the engine compartment. They found a tall safebox near the control terminal, which Kasumi jogged towards. It took her a few seconds to open it, and what was inside was nothing more than a datapad.

"What's it say Kasumi?" Shepard asked.

"It's a contract... on Aria T'loak...for over 3 million credits" She stated.

The group left the ship and headed back to the Normandy.

The team departed, except Shepard called Zaeed over to his cabin. "We got a call to make to Omega."

Shepard typed into his omnitool, and the leader of asari responded, rather quickly actually. "Aria, we eliminated Vido, and found something else you may be interested in."

Zaeed lifted up the datapad and sent the information directly to the crime queen, who's face went from stoic to pure anger.

"Those bastards think they can pull a fucking contract on me?" She screamed, but regained her composure. "I appreciate the warning, if I find anything useful for your mission Shepard I'll send it immediately." She nodded and cut the link.

Aria T'loak was not an easy person to get along with. She glanced at the implant schematics, and thought about the data she had just received. She would never openly admit it, but she decided, then and there, Shepard would always have a safe haven on her asteroid as long as she was in charge.

Zaeed stuck out his hand afterwards, which Shepard shook. "You helped my ass out Shepard, something not many people would have done. My guns yours as long as ya need me."

"I might need it soon, next stop's Tuchanka." He retorted.

The mercenary nodded, but Shepard added one last thing. "I understand why you did that, but I don't want anymore of it."

"I got it. Good enough to take off their heads cleanly anyways" He tapped his Mantis and walked out.

Shepard descended the elevator with him to deck four, but headed to Tali and Aj. He always seemed to pick the strangest times to intrude.

"Why did the pervert cross the road?" Aj said unknowing of his captain behind him.

"Uh, I don't know?" Tali said hesitantly.

"Because he was stuck in the chicken!" Aj exclaimed laughing. He heard the scottish man snicker, but Gabby yelled out.

"That's disgusting!"

"Uh, what's a chicken?" Tali asked.

"A bird, you see..." Aj was interrupted by Shepard's throat clearing.

"Aj, what on earth are you trying to teach her?" He asked shaking his head.

All four of the engineers quickly turned around to see their commander raising an eyebrow at the interspecies couple in front of him.

"Oh, hey Shepard. Uh, well..."

"He's teaching her how he nearly got hit by a car" Ken jibbed, getting even Gabby to laugh.

Sighing, but with a weak smile, he said "I'm about to call Shala, do you have her address Tali?"

"Yes, one moment" She punched into her omnitool a few times.

Shepard called the Admiral then and there, which she answered within ten seconds. "Commander Shepard?" She said obviously nervous at why he would have to speak to her.

"Yes Admiral Raan, and no. Aj and Tali are perfectly fine, except your niece is in love with a moron." He said with a grin. "I called to tell you we just cleared a ship of mercenaries, and thought you'd want it for the fleet."

Shala immediately changed her demeanor with the new intel. "That I've known for a while, but yes, we would be very grateful for any resources."

"I'll send the coordinates immediately Admiral, sorry for the intrusion."

"Please, do not worry. And thank you for your gift, we appreciate you aiding the flotilla." She cut the link.

"The coordinates have been sent commander" EDI stated. She was becoming good at the new proactive approach. She noticed organics appreciated being assisted without being asked.

"Thank you Shepard!" Tali happily squeaked after the synthetic.

"Yeah, but now she'll expect me to bring back something useful besides my glorious smile." Aj added jokingly

"Bosh'tet! You'll try to bring her some turian ale!"

"Hey hey now, you're the one who got shitfaced drunk on the stuff, not me!"

Tali gasped blushing, but everyone else in the room howled with laughter at her expense.

"You got drunk Tali?" Shepard asked extremely amused.

Her face only acquired a deeper hue, so Aj decided to respond for her. "That she did, had to carry her back to her room on the Neema. You know how awkward that conversation was with her dad?"

"Oh keelah.." She whispered.

"Man Tali, trying to seduce a poor human." Shepard did not expect this sort of info on the 'innocent' quarian.

"Hey, he drank much more than me!" She defended.

"Well Shepard, she has a shotgun, so we might need to continue this lovely tale later" Aj added smirking.

"You're finally learning from Garrus, but I doubt you're getting off this one easy." Tali's evil laugh confirmed his suspicions.

"Save your ammo for now Tali, we're headed to Tuchanka next."


	27. Bittersweet Contemplation

Shepard left the talk with Tali and Aj feeling a lot happier about himself. However, by the time he got to his room, things were coming into perspective about the recent evens.

_He stopped the bastard from running away, and saw Zaeed marching towards him. Zaeed pulled out his gun and pointed it at the guy's head, an eye for an eye. But he stopped, grinning, and aimed at the man's... Oh fuck... He shot...the man's going to torture the bastard. A howling scream penetrated the air. He froze in place for a moment. Grunt was...laughing? _

_Shepard immediately left the room after he regained his composure. Everything in his mind screamed at him to just leave. When he turned around, he noticed Grunt hadn't joined him. The krogan knew what more was coming, and wanted to watch it first hand. The two women were far down the hall, they turned into a room likely to get away. He heard four loud crunches one by one, likely the man's limbs being crushed. The scream was the worst part those times. The man sounded like he was begging, but he wasn't even articulating words. He heard Zaeed mumble something, and then a gurggle.. like they sliced into him. He heard them jogging back towards him, then an explosion. It was over._

_Years of military training had taught him how to hold his composure, but inside he wasn't quite sure what to think. He did his best to ignore it. Zaeed deserved it, right? Grunt just wanted to learn, his race is aggressive. He couldn't get the scream out of his mind though._

Shaking his head from his thoughts, he decided the best thing to do was to keep talking. His short banter down with the two lovebirds downstairs was fun, but this was just eating him away. Garrus? No, he'd never forgive me for letting Dr. Heart run...Jacob? He doesn't talk much about anything. Kasumi would rat everything out eventually. Dr. Chakwas? She's never been in a combat situation, Miranda's still pretty hard to talk to... Mordin, I don't know what he'd do, but I don't think he'd approve as a doctor...Samara?

He paused for a moment thinking about his new recruit; she'd only been on board a little over an hour. This was a thing he did not particularly do himself, but he couldn't give out Zaeed's name... She'd kill him...

He made his way down the elevator, unsure how to really speak about the situation. Bring up combat missions! The woman was sitting on the couch, oddly not meditating as she said. She was just staring into space. She turned to check who it was when he came in.

"Shepard, I noticed we changed course to Tuchanka, may I inquire why?" She stood up to face him as she spoke.

"Grunt, the krogan, seems to have a problem and Mordin's assistant has been captured by a group of them."

"You have no personal objective here?" She asked without changing her stoic expression.

"Nothing really, might be able to find an old friend of mine, heard he was trying to lead the clans down there."

"I see. I have not met very many friendly krogan." She stated as a true fact in her travels.

"He's pretty smart to. He knows how to control his anger even during combat."

"You seem to get to know your crew well among your travels. I may be 'rusty', and I apologize. I haven't had a colleague to speak with in over 400 years. If you're patient, I will try."

He managed a smile at her honesty, it didn't seem like she was trying to be rude, but another factual statement. "You mentioned your code, what is it?" He had been curious about the life codes. She motioned to the nearby couch where they sat a few feet apart.

"A doctrine I swore my life to. It dictates the actions of a proper justicar." She sounded like she had answered that many times to curious onlookers.

"To protect the innocent at any cost?"

"No, I will not harm an innocent under any circumstances."

_That explains why she wanted me to draw her daughter out..._"By the mission set up previously, I assume she had used that to her advantage before."

She looked surprised for a moment, but returned to normal. "Yes, it has been an unfortunate escape route for her. It...had been."

"Normally I'd be ecstatic I was able to help, but it seems such a tragedy to me. I guess I really don't have 400 years to ponder it though." He immediately felt a little rude, but she did not appear offended.

"Perhaps, but your species still walks among your evolutionary ancestors, monkeys I believe. You are a very determined race, and quick at adapting." He couldn't help but smirk. All but the hanar and humans lived as the last of their genus. Hanar favored to keep the smaller jellies with them as pets.

"I agree. You seem particularly calm even for an asari."

"My life brings me to the battle. When I find peace, I often savor it." She looked like her lips slightly showed a smile.

"I'm curious, does the code allow you to do anything necessary to exterminate a threat to peace?" She did not seem phased by the question.

She calmly replied, "Yes, any method to eliminate the target and no innocent lives."

"Does it elaborate on brutality?" He perused.

She seemed to be in thought for a moment. "We do not extend the act of killing any more than required."

"So, if you were in a situation where you had to torture someone to get the intel you needed, would you?" _Why'd I even ask, no doubt she wouldn't..._

She looked at him inquisitively, and responded. "It was necessary once in my travels, but I did not extend it to an atrocious level. I had to shoot the individual in the shoulder to finally attain information vital to my mission."

_She's done it? What the hell? _"I've...allowed is the correct word to say, a person to be tortured under my command, but it was prolonged more than your endeavor. I personally did not take part in the endeavor."

"By the way you say it, you assume you're still responsible for the events?" She was looking at him with a deep stare. "And you're questioning to see if I would approve or attempt to kill the torturer in your circumstance?"

_Damn, she's smarter than I thought. Nearly a millenium of experience I guess does help a hell of a lot. _"Well, I do feel responsible, but as you'll see, I give my crew members guidance, not orders for personal choices. Back on the first Normandy, a crew member wanted to execute a doctor who escaped him earlier. The demented sociopath was performing sick experiments on live subjects. When we got there, I convinced him to bring him into custody instead, but he ran, so we had to kill him. If he wanted to shoot him still after my talk, I would not have stopped him."

He paused for a moment, and continued. "And honestly, I am wondering what you would do if it was someone you knew in the torture situation."

"I do not pass judgement on the act of killing a known enemy of the innocents. I personally would not have done it, but my code does not say I cannot." She looked away for a moment back to the stars, and glanced back. "I do not know if you are religious, but the actions of a person will be judged by something greater than anything tangible in the known universe in my eyes. That is how I would view it."

"I feel like I should have stopped it; that it's a strike on my part for not... quickening the process of the execution." He couldn't meet her eyes after his statement, he felt ashamed of his insecurity.

"How many innocent lives did you save by eliminating the threat you speak of?"

"No idea, but years worth of unnecessary deaths. He was the leader for a notorious gang."

"Then do not concern yourself for the choices of others. You said it with your own words, you do not force your crew to behave, you guide them. That is how the most influential leaders gather a loyal following. The person who did the killing will have that on their concious for the remainder of their mortal lives, that is their punishment. Concern yourself with the lives you have protected, for that was your action."

He managed a weak smile at that, but still wasn't very happy with the situation. "Thanks Samara, what you say makes sense. I just need to focus on what I did, not my acquaintances, but I will continue to try to guide them towards a more...paragon approach."

"You are most welcome, commander. The code has pieces of wisdom which speak to any warrior, regardless of species. Perhaps after your missions on Tuchanka, we may continue on less... gruesome topics."

"Of course, I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield." He gave her a real smile, and left her to her meditations. Although he still did not feel comfortable with the recent events, he felt a slight amount of peace. He would guide his team as best as he could down the paths of mercy, second chances, and inhibiting unnecessary violence, but he would not force them. The best coaches do not yell at their players for a wrong decision, but teach them on the proper choices, and let them try again. There was always a second chance.

After Shepard had left engineering, Aj had started to feel rather hungry.

"I'm going to snag a bite to eat Tali, I don't have a handy tube o'delicacy laying around unfortunately." He remarked smirking.

She just looked at her terminal, pausing her fingers, and turned to him slowly. "I wish I could eat real food Aj... so bad. But, these tubes, they're all I can eat." Her voice clearly showed the underlying sadness.

He regretted his words immediately, and embraced the now distraught quarian. "Hey, don't worry. Maybe I can get you some turian food in a clean room sometime. You don't seem to get too sick from my germs."

"Well, your levo bacteria can't infect me. I just have to let it leave my system. But turian food would have dextro bacteria, and that could be life threatening for me..."

He released the hug and lifted up her right hand, kissing the top part. "We'll find a way, don't worry." After noticing her eyes form into what he'd learned was a smile, he continued. "I'll be back soon, don't get too lonely!"

She shook her head and gave him another quick hug. After leaving his lover down at work, he headed up the elevator to the mess hall. When he arrived, he noticed Jacob was sitting at the far corner by himself with a data tablet in his hand. The man looked like he was deep in thought, but had a slightly somber expression on his face.

After getting an...edible plate of lasagna, he decided to go sit by the man who was barely poking at his own plate. "What's up Jacob?" He hadn't really gotten to know him, but he'd heard he's a decent biotic and a shotgun'er like Tali.

The man was startled by the sudden noise, and nearly dropped the datapad. "Oh, hello Aj. I'm reading a letter from an Aeia patient."

"I bet they're extremely grateful to you guys for saving them."

The man frowned slightly. "It should have never happened to them."

Noticing his change in demeanor, he quickly thought of a way to alleviate the man's thoughts. "So, what's the letter say?"

"It's from a lady named Dr. Cole who's helping the patients. She said one of the women we rescued was her sister. She's thanking me and wants a chance to in person sometime. Nobody at the hospital suspects she's Cerberus, at least. The Illusive Man got her in as long as she shared the results of the native bacteria's experiments. Another double edged sword."

"Yeah, and I bet many of the other families would thank you if they could. You fixed your father's mistake, something I believe you should be proud of. I heard about how it was solved, and I know it wasn't easy. You saved a lot of souls."

"I guess you're right. So what are you up to? You're always down working with Miss Zorah or helping Dr. Solus?" _The man thought to himself about what Kasumi had said. _Putting down the datapad, he added, "Or did Tali finally kick you out of engineering?"

Neither of them had seen Garrus pop out from the bar -he had surprisingly only had a couple of Jiklatx ales. He sat down a little from Aj and had a dextro-based...well...it looked like a rat on a stick. "Never get between that woman and the engine room."

Aj chuckled. "I think she really would take out her shotgun then."

Snickering, Garrus continued. "Hell, she'd go straight for her boot knife."

Both definitely got a kick at the mental image. Jacob decided why the hell not. "Or her combat drone."

Garrus winced slightly. "That little bugger shocked me once on Noveria, stung for a week."

"Probaly because turian skin is metallic, she said it only attacks friendlies." Aj guessed.

"Yours looks like it is too." Jacob said, pointing at his arm.

"It is."

"So, how'd you get that? I thought only we were even capable of it. Most species can barely tolerate metal weaves in their skin, even the krogan." Garrus questioned.

"I don't know the details, but it was a specialized process what took over a century. It shouldn't be retried." He answered solemly.

Both Jacob and Garrus looked confused and answered simoultaneuosly. "Why not?"

"Every day I woke up in pain for over four years, and my mother never told me it was from her doing. I assume it would have continued until the process was near completion." He answered shaking his head and looking at his food. _I owe it to her that I'm alive I assume, but what she did..._

Both the others frowned slightly, but nodded. "I doubt that would change regardless of the advances of current technology." Jacob said.

"So was it just your skin?" The turian inquired.

"No, my bones are all covered, my major blood vessels, my nerves, my organs, under my skin. I have a second set of synthetic nerves parallel to my organic ones connecting to my brain and throughout my body."

Both Jacob and Garrus again just stared at him in near disbelief. "And you're dating a quarian." The turian again chuckled, while sniping off a piece of the skewered animal; Jacob just smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a geth." He said waving him off. "So scuttlebutt says you're dating a human."

"Damnit Kasumi." Garrus said at the two smirking humans infront of him. "No, I'm just seeing her at the Citadel."

"Sure..." Jacob mocked. Aj gave him a thumbs up.

"Dextro-levo is the way to go." He said as if it was a slogan.

Both Garrus and Jacob gave him a strange look, but Jacob interjected. "What's wrong with a human girl Garrus?"

"Nothing really, just I've got claws and scales, and she's got soft skin and lips." Garrus answered awkwardly.

"Just don't go ape shit on her." Jacob covered his face and shook his head while Garrus gave him an odd look.

"I'm not a primate like you guys. But anyways, do quarians have scales? Most everyone knows they have small claws."

The two looked at Aj expectantly, and he blushed. He knew Tali was extremely private with her face. "I'm not going to answer that question." He focused on eating for a quick getaway.

"So you have seen her!" Garrus exclaimed with a slight increase in volume.

"Not many people ever have." Jacob said finally taking another bite of lasagna.

Garrus prodded, "So you're not going to enlighten us Aj?"

Aj shook his head. "Shotgun." Garrus noded in understanding and finished off his strange cuisine.

"Well, I'll let you kids be. I've got some work to do." The turian got up from the table.

"I'm 28 Garrus." Jacob proclaimed.

"Yep, a kid. And he's 20." He pointed a talon at Aj. "Tali told me that one. Even she's older than you!"

Jacob looked surprised. "You're only 20? Damn. Young blood on the team."

Garrus went back to his post, we will never know for what intriguing reason. Perhaps to practice tap dancing? After he left, Jacob added. "So, I've got to ask, and not to be rude because I'm not judging, but why a quarian?"

Aj shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? I really like spending time with her, she's a genius, she's beautiful, and she's a hell of a fighter. Perfect woman in my book."

"I spoke with a quarian guy once, it was before Cerberus when we were defending a transport. He was on his uh...where th-"

"Pilgrimage." Aj chimed.

"Yeah, that. I asked him why the visors aren't clear, ya know? He said it's become sort of a cultural thing. For a woman to show you their face they need to trust you fully. I'm assuming you have, so that means she must trust you a lot."

"I'd trust her with my life honestly." Aj said sincerely.

"That's a great thing to have, I'm glad for you. I didn't mean to pry or anything."

"You don't trust anyone fully?" He asked noticing his slight...admiration?

Jacob was slightly caught off guard with the question, but shook his head. "I'd trust the people on board this ship in any combat situation, but I'm used to the Illusive Man's antics. I can't trust the man, and most of the people above me are pretty similar."

"Didn't he say you led the second squad on Haestrom?"

"Yeah, I did with Kasumi and Zaeed."

"And you see how protective he is of Tali and Garrus, right?"

"Well, yeah they're his old squad mates."

"So he trusts you on a mission not only in a dangerous situation, but to save one of his closest friends. Do you think he'd do that if he didn't trust you?"

Jacob paused for a moment. "I guess not. I'm doing the best I can for him."

"Seems that's exactly what he wants. Well, if he trusts you with Tali, I can trust you too. I don't think he'd risk her life with anyone he didn't think would succeed."

"Thanks Aj." He polished off his last bite of lasagna and got up. "I've got to get back to the armory, Samara's guns could use some upgrading. Nice chatting with ya." He stook out his hand, which was shaken firmly by the metalman.

"Have fun with that." He finished off the rest of his food as well and concentrated.

_"EDI, how long till we get to Tuchanka?"_

_"Approximately four hours Aj._

With plenty of time to spend with a quarian, he decided to go back to helping her with the engines. Tuchanka was the home of the krogan. If there ever was a guarantee for some fighting, jumping into a planet full of the powerful reptiles was the ticket.


	28. Krogan Paradise pt 1

"Commander Shepard. Eta ten minutes to Tuchanka as you requested." EDI declared.

A groggy commander got up from the bed stretching. "Any idea if we're meeting Wrex?"

"Yes, we are headed to his clan's territory."

"Good, so how's the situation on Tuchanka these days?"

"Reports indicate clan leader Urdnot Wrex leads many of the clans. He is currently the most prominent leader on Tuchanka by claiming approximately 63% of the planet's krogan population."

"And that's not too high right now, but still, that's a damn good job." He said aloud. _Team of five, we need to take care of Grunt first. That'll give him some time to spend with his own kind, hopefully Wrex too, while we infiltrate for Mordin. Who to bring? _"Inform Mordin we will begin without him to gather intel as a salarian doctor abducted."

He thought for a moment, and continued. "Also, EDI, please tell Garrus, Samara, Grunt, Tali," ..._Hmm...is bringing Aj such a good idea...He might end up starting a damn fight...Fuck it he'll be fine. "_and Aj." He added after a brief pause. "Tell all of them to equip incendiary ammo just in case." He himself would be using the new warp ammo Mordin had engineered to work with biotics. "Except Samara, tell her to meet me in the armory first."

"Understood commander."

After getting into his N-7 armor -he never liked wearing the Cerberus emblem in battle- he quickly went down to the armory to see Samara already there in conversation.

"So you've been training since humans lived in castles?" Jacob said while getting her guns.

"I do believe that is the case. I had believed salarians would be the quickest to adapt to new technology, but now I believe your species holds the lead."

"Well, it's a pleasure to have you on the team, ma'am. Your weapons have been upgraded. There is no difference in kickback or aim, but you should have more power and piercing." He informed.

"Thank you for your assistance." She said bowing slightly, to which Jacob nodded. The justicar looked back at Shepard. "What did you require of me Shepard?"

"Jacob, mind putting the warp ammo to her gun?" He said at Jacob, then at her. "This ammo I'd like you to use is brand new, top of the line engineering. Mordin came up with it to add your biotic potential to the slugs. It only made me hungry as hell after a few hours as a negative, but it slaughters through biotic barriers. Also, it does some pretty good damage on flesh."

"I will try this then, does it dampen my biotic abilities?" She said cautiously but without expression change.

"Nope, just makes you tired faster. Kind of like running with a small weight on your back compared to normal. But I doubt you'll have much of an issue, worked for me and your physiology should actually make it even more effective."

"Thank you commander. I appreciate both of your assistance.'' She said, bowing slightly now at Shepard, and walked to the debriefing room as EDI's request.

Before he left the armory, he ran into Aj and Tali skirting in; they probaly didn't have the upgrade handy unlike Grunt and Garrus.

Walking right up to Aj, Shepard stated. "Tali, we'll be meeting Wrex. Aj, I understand your frustration on Omega with the individual in line, but control your temper on this planet. We do not need to start a fight, because some of them damn sure will want one."

"Yes commander." He said only a little bit annoyed, but serious enough to were Shepard knew he understood the seriousness.

Shepard nodded and left while their weapons were getting upgraded. Jacob had to go under a crate to get more of the upgrade units. "So, that krogan you had on the first Normandy's the leader you say?"

"Yeah, I, uh...called him Uncle Wrex back then." She said shyly. "He always had good advice for me."

"Haha, well he was over a thousand years old, right? A krogan mentor does explain a lot actually..." Aj switched back to his amused tone.

"Yeah, he's... you're a bosh'tet... I've always had my shotgun handy." She said in mock indignation.

"I'll find out what that word means someday. You know that, and I'll remember all those times you've hissed at me." He wisecracked. "Remember, synthetic parts."

"But knowing your simple mind, you will run out of memory after the first few times." Said jibbed back at his obvious joke...right?

"Oh? So far 53 times since we've been on the Normandy." He said accurately, and heard a synthetic voice.

_"She has refered to you as the said term another 19 times outside of your own conversations." EDI mentioned directly to him._

"And another 19 times outside of our talks. So a total of 72 times Miss Zorah!" He said snorting. The poor quarian girl's jaw was wide open in surprise, but she noticed the brief pause this time.

"Bosh.. Both of you, idiots! I know you said something EDI!" She responded shaking her head.

Jacob interrupted laughing at the conversation, but handing them their weapons. "Here you two go, have fun with th-" He paused before handing Tali her weapon, Aj had his already. "I don't think it's safe to hand this to her under the recent circumstances." He added with a smile, but handed it anyway.

"Thanks for reminding her amigo." He groaned while waving her off and quickly walking to the door. Tali ran behind him and punched his shoulder. The armor made it only a formality, however.

They walked into the debriefing room, but Aj hadn't noticed since he was facing Tali. "Are all you quarians so abusive to-?" He stopped noticing the entire room was looking at him with an array of looks. Grunt smiled, 'playful' hand-to-hand combat was considered foreplay with his kind. Garrus had a look as though he agreed with the theme of the message. Samara actually had a real smile on noticing his tone, and Shepard was just grinning right at Tali. Her six fingers had quickly met her visor.

"Oh hey there." Aj stated trying to be coy. Thankfully Shepard took command saving his skin in the process.

"Alright everyone, we're going to be landing in a few minutes. You've all got your ammo, expect combat. We'll be meeting with Urdnot Wrex, the head krogan. Heads on a swivel, but do not cause unnecessary hostilities. We look for anything what can help Grunt to begin with. Any questions?" Seeing only nods, the group headed for the planet.

When they landed, the group received a few odd stares, but were not openly attacked. _So far, so good, Shepard thought._ The guard was blunt as most krogan, and directed him towards the clan leader. After only a short walk through rubble, and encountering more stares -and a couple of outright glares at Garrus- the group arrived at an area where one krogan was on a big seat. The krogan was talking to another standing infront of the chair, both seemed annoyed. The scar was extremely familiar...Wrex!

He strided over to the small hill he was on, his team close behind, when two guards stepped in front of his path.

"You must wait until he summons you. He is currently in talks." One guard said monotonely. He could still see Wrex over one's shoulder.

The krogan's eyes trailed off the speaker for a moment and directly hit his. A grin appeared across the leader's face and he bellowed. "Shepard!" He had been informed the human was alive by him directly, and hadn't expected a visit until the mission was complete.

One of the guards shrugged at the other, and they both stepped aside. Shepard continued up the hill while the 'speaking' krogan just moved aside a bit angrily. He got up to the hill and shook Wrex's hand, which was definitely not a weak grip.

"It's good to see you Wrex. Seems like everything's working out since you left." The commander said, his team accumulated behind him.

"Yeah, they even got you a chair. Beats what we had on the SR-1" Garrus added dryly.

Moving his hand to Garrus, he retorted. "You're still a wise ass Garrus, but at least you got yourself a real battle trophy." He looked around at the camp, then back at the team. "This is the future of the krogan. I just have to convince everyone not to try to get revenge. Have to work with aliens not kill them."

Tali had been slightly hidden from beside Aj and behind Shepard, so she stepped forward. "You can. It'll take time, but you were the one who proved it works." She said happily. Wrex immediately got up, recognizing the voice, and was rewarded with a quarian's hug. His was slightly stronger than hers, and she left the embrace with a small gasp of air.

"Glad you're okay Tali." He said. The krogan nearby shook his head in disapproval. The guards down the path were too busy gawking at Samara, who was ignoring it fully.

Aj nudged Garrus's side and whispered. "Notice he's got a shotgun too."

Tali, unfortunately heard the statement and slapped him in his chest, getting a snicker out of the turian. Wrex was giving Aj a strange look. "A big human. Who are you?"

He responded proudly. "Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema, they call me Aj."

This caused the krogan's face to contort to an even more confused demeanor, which he suspected the cause of. "Yes, I live on a quarian ship and I am part of the fleet."

Wrex nodded at the man, then looked at Samara for an inquisitive moment. "A justicar?"

"Yes." She said calmly. She noticed for a moment they had been given names, and added. "I am Samara, justicar."

Wrex nodded at her as well, and looked at Grunt, who had been looking around the place. "Who's your krogan in your krantt?" He asked.

The word caused Shepard to pause slightly, but he remembered the meaning. "That's Grunt; he's why we came here so early. He's a tank bred, bred to be perfect. He has got some sort of a problem, and we thought you might know what's going on."

Grunt walked up to the aged krogan. "I am Grunt, created by Okeer. Bloodline of his, Shiagur-" But he was cut off by the other krogan who had scowled at the pleasantries.

"You speak of powerful warriors, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" He roared.

Wrex ignored the outburst, and sniffed the air around Grunt. "He is nearing the time of the Rite, there is nothing wrong with him. What is your clan?"

"I have no clan. What is the Rite?" Grunt said bluntly.

"The time when every young krogan earns their place in a clan as a full member." He thought for a moment. "You fight for Shepard?"

"Yes, he has many big enemies." The young warrior replied.

Wrex again paused for a moment, but again the angry side-krogan interjected. "You're not thinking of letting it complete the Rite? It is not natur-" Wrex was snarling and had gotten up and headbutted the speaker, knocking him to the ground. He looked back at Grunt stoically. "Do you wish to undergo the Rite. To become an Urdnot?"

Grunt turned and looked behind him, only for a moment. He refaced the leader and answered, "Yes. It is what I am."

"Good, go see the Shaman and he'll get you set up." He looked back at Shepard with a grin. "Remember, this is Tuchanka, not somewhere homey like Feros or Illos." Krogan are not allowed to reveal any hints about the Rite to anyone who was about to undertake it. It was a sign of weakness, and he decided that was a fair enough warning for Shepard.

Shepard grinned back saying "We've got spare ammo." Which was an understood, Grunt happily punched his fist into his other hand. "I'll get back to you after we get you a new clan member."

The group departed, but Wrex had one last thing to say. "Tali" It was only loud enough for her and Aj to hear.

The young woman and human turned around while the rest of the group continued. She walked over to the throne again. "Yeah Wrex?"

The krogan looked at her, then at Aj who was watching from afar. He quickly turned after the attention, feeling he had likely offended by eavesdropping and took a few steps away. When the krogan's eyes met hers again, it was coupled with a powerful...grin.

"You never were good at keeping secrets." He said amused.

Her fingers started to wring mercilessly. She had always told Wrex she thought some human males were attractive, but she would never date one. He had said it was only a matter of time. In this situation, the wise old bastard seemed to predict correctly. "I...uh..."

Wrex just laughed and said, "Told you to never bet against a krogan." She wearily pulled out a 50 credit chit and handed it to the clever reptile. He said in a lower tone, "Be careful out there kid." He had always been protective of the small girl during missions, her tech abilities had been extremely efficient in combat. Plus, she had upgraded his shotgun immensly during their campaign.

"Thanks Un-... Wrex. See you later!" She remarked and jogged over to Aj, who was at the beginning of the stairwell... She quickly saw the scene and disapproved of the antics.

Aj was standing at a piece of rubble with a krogan arm wrestling. It was a stalemate at the moment, but it seemed like the human was gaining an edge. He groaned loudly and finally pinned the guard's arm

"Hah!" He yelped happily. The krogan was not amused. _Guess Grunt was good practice. 1-17 against krogan!_

"Grr...Lost to a human." He growled while shaking his head.

Tali had made it beside him by that time, but he hadn't noticed. "Don't worry, I got upgrades. You're all natural. "

The krogan seemed a little less dejected, and walked off to his post. Aj turned to see a quarian with a amused but displeased look. "What are you doing bosh'tet?"

He just looked at the krogan and back at her shrugging. "54?" Now he knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, he would always remember how many times she'd called him a 'bosh'tet'. Oh she'll get it someday, but far from today.

"Keelah..." She shook her head wearily, but grabbed his hand and ran up the stairwell.

When they arrived, they both had the joy of seeing...Shepard headbutting a krogan? They quickly ran beside him as the Shaman laughed.

Shepard, Samara, Garrus, Aj and Grunt walked over to the beginning of the stairwell. Aj was in the back for some reason.

"Hey, human." The whole group turned around at the krogan's threatening tone.

"What do you want?" Shepard stated calmly.

"Not you." He pointed at Aj. "The big one."

Aj walked up to the krogan, who had a large scowl. "What?"

"Come here." He walked over to a post where the two krogan guards were arm wrestling. Aj looked at Shepard and gave him a thumbs up. "Fine, but if you break your damn arm Dr. Chakwas will know exactly why; I don't think she'll be as excited." He ended with a laugh. Aj made eye contact with Grunt and nodded.

The rest of the group went up the stairs went upstairs to meet with the 'Shaman' and noticed that the scowling krogan had beaten him to the punch. He was growling at the older looking one, which seemed amused.

"What if the beasts reject him? He is from a tank! They'll ignore him like a piece of scrap metal!" It spewed again.

"They care not of the womb Uvenk, but only if a true krogan." He said calmly.

Grunt stomped over to the confrentation. "I speak for myself." He said angrily.

The Shaman stood by him, glanced at his plate and arms, and looked back at Gatanog. "He is a krogan by scent and by appearance. Your protests yet again, are hollow." He said with a bit of anger.

"My krantt and I stand against this animal. He has no krantt!" He growled.

"All six of us stand as his krantt." He said barking at the protestor.

"Bah! You aliens don't know the meaning of a krantt!" Uvenk roared back.

The Shaman looked at Shepard expectantly. _His translator had given him the definition group, but a group of krogans..._"We stand ready to kill with him." He stated flatly.

The angry krogan had enough of this. He stomped into Shepard's face a few feet away glaring. "You're too weak to be a kr-".

Shepard was getting sick of this bastard. _He growls right into my damn face calling me weak? _Without thinking he slammed his head against the krogan's headplate. He'd seen Wrex do it to show dominance.

The krogan started a roar of laughter. Footsteps came from behind, they were too light to be krogan. _Tali and Aj..._The Shaman calmed himself, and Uvenk continued. "You...you dare?" He said surprisingly. After a moment of pause he said. "I withdraw my protests, this will be decided elsewhere."

He stomped off, and the old krogan pulled out an omnitool. It was surprising how much technology they still maintained, omnitools were now common among the planet side krogan, more so for their convenience than weaponry. It had only begun in the past couple of years, however to 'spread knowledge'. The Shaman approved; he began to speak. "Are you ready for the Rite. Grunt?"

Grunt stepped up and stated. "I am ready to become Urdnot."

"Excellent!" He hissed back. _Today we will see how much of Wrex's stories were true. Commander Shepard vs. the Rite..._He growled happily in anticipation.


	29. Krogan Paradise pt 2

They were led to a tomkah; the Shaman examined their weapons throughout the trek. Shepard had a beam rifle/Revenant combo, Tali her Scimitar, Samara her Vindicator, Grunt opted for explosives with a beam rifle/grenade launcher, Garrus his Viper/Vindicator norm, and Aj decided to use an old friend with the Revenant/Avalanche combo.

He seemed to aprove, and off they went. Once all were seated in the vehicle, Grunt looked at Aj with a feral grin. "Did you win?"

"Yeah, my losing streak finally broke!" He said rather excitedly.

Grunt chuckled lowly, to most a terrifying sight. "Good, you still need practice." The krogan seemed proud he could beat someone a 'natural' one lost to.

"You won?" Shepard questioned amused.

"Yes, wasn't easy. I think I'm getting stronger though." He said nervously. "Not sure if that's healthy or not.

Tali suggested, "Ask Mordin about it, he knew everything there was to know about human anato-" She paused at the entire group grinning at her, even Samara had a subtle one.

After a short awkward silence, however, Garrus decided he might survive a shotgun blast at close range. "What part of the 'human anatomy' we talking about?"

Only the males seemed to find this amusing...loudly. Samara walked to and sat at the left side of the furiously blushing woman. Her six digits sat above her visor, but she quickly put them down. Samara glanced at her, then scowled at Garrus. Tali leaned into Aj, and was holding on to his right arm for dear life.

Aj looked at her disbelievingly for a second, but turned right to Garrus, and with a straight face, dug his grave. "Back in my youth, we used to have a thing called show and tell whe-"

A screech and small hand cupping his mouth stopped said excavating, and a fuming quarian glared beneath the visor at him then Garrus.

Samara stopped the scene, and likely saved two lives. She hadn't seen the couple yet, and was thoroughly surprised by their obvious antics. "You should quit acting like children should focus on the mission." She stated, oddly not angrily, but calmly.

The way she said the last part even made Garrus decide to drop it. Tali was still unhappy at Aj's behavior, but she couldn't quench the desire to just be near him. The group quieted down; Garrus, Grunt, and Shepard started talking tactics for small and large targets.

The justicar noticed her quick, and slightly hesitant scramble to the taller human. Also, the immediate relaxation as Aj just held her tightly; she seemed worried. Samara sat by the couple she had voiced towards, and whispered to them so only they could hear. "You two are young. You have much to learn about her ways."

Tali perked up facing her and Aj looked at her awkwardly. "Would you like to speak with us after our business on Tuchanka?" He stated more of as a desire for enlightenment not of indignation.

"If you wish, I tell you what I know." She stated coolly. "Most of it I learned before the war , however, so I do not know how time has changed it."

"You... you were on Rannoch?" Tali said in awe. But in the back of her mind..._Keelah, first the three steps, now what a lifemate is...I need to call Auntie..._

"It would be wise to focus on the mission first as not to cloud your attention" She answered.

The rest of the ride was rather short. Upon arriving at a rectangular area, the driver pointed at a red light thirty meters in the distance. "That is the keystone. Three rounds, push it to begin, and after the first and second round." Noticing the group of six had exited, he added. "After five minutes, the third round will end. Survive." Without waiting for a response, the krogan got back in the tomkah and drove off.

Shepard noticed the last word was the most important, this was going to be like the hell they went through back in N-7. "Everyone, be ready. This isn't going to be easy, but I'll be damned if they think any krogan is tougher than each and every one of you."

The group nodded in understanding and began to head towards the 'keystone'. "Grunt, your Rite, you start it." Shepard said laughing. It was the best way to ease the tension in the group. _Maybe the krogan know a few things about battle psychology, heh._..

The young warrior wholeheartedly complied, and pushed the button, turning it green. A large pillar nearby rose up from the ground, and came crashing back down. Krogan rituals event had hints of violence and power it seemed. Soon after, a loudspeaker started to 'educate' the prospective clan member.

"First the krogan conquered Tuchanka, a place only we are fit to rule!"

Grunt roared in approval, but the gates opening ahead cancelled all thought. Both had ten varren raging down upon them.

"Samara, Aj, Tali right side move!" Shepard ordered, and ran behind cover to the left pillar. Garrus pulled off a shot and killed one.

Aj, Tali and Samara were taking cover. Samara started firing taking two out, and Aj looked right at Tali, nodding.

The couple charged forward; Tali's shotgun fired three times, killing four. Aj beamed the further four, while Samara stood impressed behind the cover. Before she could remark, however, Shepard hit the com's unit. "Second team, how's your location?" The left side had a small formation for cover, which also blocked his teams view.

"Nothing serious yet Shepard." Tali stated quickly and cut the line. Samara looked at her, and suddenly felt...excited...for a battle, the first time in centuries. There were no innocents against them today.

The gates rumbled open, and fifteen varren sprinted down, snarling as the ones before it. Samara came out from cover and sent a shockwave down most of the pack; the three leaders were crushed against concrete rubble, but the rest got back up with a vengance.

Aj sent an Incinerate at one automatically while aiming his Collector beam up, exploding on two and mopping three nearby. Tali sent out her own Incinerate, hers though was designed now for a wider spread. It killed three; she had already aimed her shotgun blasted two in the face by then, turning their corpses to ash. Samara plucked the last three off from a distance with her assault rifle.

"Shepard your team alright?" Aj yelled into the coms in a serious.

"Fine, Grunt's having a blast, and Garrus and I are having an assault rifle competition, how bout you?" Shepard said to the entire squad's coms...laughing.

"Bosh'tets...always." Tali said shaking her head. Aj had to physically resist himself from saying another numerical integer.

Samara hadn't spoken, she wasn't used to speaking during her missions, but was enjoying the conversation nonetheless.

A few more seconds later, and the final twenty varren scrambled down each side. Faintly, Grunt was heard yelling, 'I AM KROGAN!' likely into a headlong charge.

Tali tossed one of the flashbangs she got rom Kasumi, and screamed, "Go get them Chiktikka vas Paus!" A small drone armed with an explosive device swarmed in for a suicide plunge, killing six stunned varren.

Aj and Samara had been picking off the closer ones, killing four each. Tali's drone cleaned out the middle ground, and the final six fell right into their sights. Samara threw a Reave, to which the head two leaders responded by convulsing blood on the ground. Aj split through the back two with a prolonged beam, while Tali blasted the closer two.

A loud sound resembling a washing machine alarm came from behind. The button was red.

"Second team ready?" Shepard asked.

Tali looked at Aj for amoment then nodded to Samara, awaiting a response. Samara activated her unit, "Yes, we are ready."

The quiet was broken by loud footsteps, Grunt running to the keystone, likely. Samara focused on the two beside her, and noticed their posture. Both were defending the other more powerfully than two offensive individuals could have. _They even fight like a bonded pair, she thought. _The krogan's blaring was not on her mind as she heard a screech.

A strange creature landed in front of them, screeching loudly. Another sounded further in the distance; flying off, five odd insectoids crawled towards them. Aj beamed at two, causing them to explode. Tali shot ones face, but had to shoot twice to kill it. Samara's shots seemed to be increasing in strength, as her Vindicator took two others quickly.

Before any of them spoke, Shepard announced. "Grunt says it's a Harvester dropping klixen, resistant to fire. Switch to cryo ammo." Tali looked at Aj who quickly got one out for her. She installed it only a moment after another of the larger animals, a Harvester, landed again nearby, as was audibly apparent by Shepard's side, but a third came and landed in the main platform. Aj switched to his Avalanche just as six were dropped from the flying creature.

In near perfect unison, Aj lobbed a round into the back, freezing four of them. Samara shot a burst at all four, turning them into frozen shards of flesh. Tali aimed at the front two although they were still far, freezing them with the first shot and shattering them with the second. Two klixen snuck up behind them, and began to screech a moment before secreting their flames.

Tali felt the heat hit her back for a moment, but Aj tackled the one which did it. Samara biotically lifted the other and threw it violently into the nearby pillar. It did not survive. He put away his Avalanche instantaneously and pulled his .44 from his calf (forgot about ye ole pistol did'ya? it's like Tali's bootknife position wise always), blowing two rounds into its skull. He threw the creature as it exploded.

After the last one fell, there was no time to rest. Six of the Harvesters came this time, and likely were not carrying friendly cargo. After they wailed their sickening cry, they each left five of the blasted vermin as a going away present.

Unfortunately for the trio, five were behind them while ten bared from the front.

"We've got point Samara, cover us." The combat engineer ordered.

Tali sent over Chiktikka into the ten klixen, while Samara sent a shockwave to her cluster. Aj had holstered his pistol and had already slaughtered two of the beasts before Chiktikka exploded killed four more.

Samara picked off three of the things before they were charging her again. The new ammo was incredibly effective, almost like a Warp in a tiny projectile. She slammed one into the ground and shot the other to a blue slush. Tali had charged with her Scimitar beside Aj and his Collector beam. Needless to say, the remaining four they ran at could not handle a quarian with her lifemate.

A second very loud buzz hit the air.

"The second round is complete." Samara stated matter-of-factly.

"Think we should regroup? Seems like it'll get worse." Aj said.

"One second." Tali responded, but she heard the keystone had been punched.

"Grunt started it early, damnit sorry, you guys okay?" Shepard said worridly.

"We're fine, shou-" Tali was interrupted by the floor shaking.

Shepard was no stranger to combat. He had felt this rumble before...a long time ago. _What the fuck wa...AKUZE._ "REGROUP CENTER NOW!" He screamed.

The team ran without question, but before they made it, a sickening wail was heard. A giant thresher maw through the rubble, directly across the keystone. This was the moment a krogan warrior showed his true skill, could they survive this beast?

Shepard stared at the creature for one moment. Memories flashed before him... The screaming of his old CO, the acid burned right through his armor. His friend getting uplifted only a few meters away from him, then getting torn apart by the creature's gaping maw. He could only reply in one specific way.

He roared at the abomination, a deep primal bellow of his anger, and started firing at the thing with his Collector beam, sprinting ahead into it's firing range. "DIE YOU SON OF A BITCH!" It was the highest pitched voice anyone had ever heard out of him.

Another deeper roar came from beside him, and another beam also contacted the thresher maw. Grunt approved of this bloodrage. Soon after, a third beam began to hit it from Aj, and slowly an Incinerate came towards it also. Garrus and Samara had also began firing their Vindicators at the beast's head. Tali took our her Carnifex and started unleashing her own fury last.

The thresher screeched in pain, but its armor held admirably; it shot out an acid bomb, which Grunt narrowly avoided. It charged forward at Grunt, who jumped out of the way after getting back up from the ground quickly. After it's failed attempt at a krogan feast, it began to subside back into the soil, and for a moment, they had peace.

"AVOID THE ACID AT ANY COST!" Shepard screamed likely for his own ears to make sure it was known. The rest did not seem thrilled to test out it's destructive potential.

The thresher reamerged towards the left flank, and shot another ball of acid into the group. Shepard and Aj dodged the ball narrowly, and the team began to rain hell. Samara moved away from the group for a moment to get a better angle, and the beast suddenly lunged at her, narrowly missing.

Shepard charged the beast sceaming with his beam rifle. He was not going to let that damn thing hurt the justicar or anyone else on the team. Two powerful steps behind him alerted him to his krogan protege's presence. The animal took back it's body and remained on the left flank, staring down the group in hunger.

All of the team were still unleashing all they had at the beast; a beam suddenly stopped, and Shepard heard someone switching weapons. Both of the raging warriors were roaring at the animal as it shot another vat of acid, but this time, it fired a second quickly right where Shepard had landed. The first missed both of them; the second splattered right where his shouder landed, sizzling through the armor almost instantaneously, and meeting his flesh. He yelled in pain as it began to liquify his shoulder blade.

His short pause of weakness and yell caused the maw to aim its sights from the krogan shooting at it to the subdued human. It charged in fury right towards the downfallen hero.

For a moment, he relaxed, ignoring the pain briefly. _This was the end, a fitting death for the second survivor of Akuze...he barely protected Coombs from suicide, but now death awaits for his team._ He began a sadistic, crazy, angered laugh as the maw of the thresher came towards him, feeling in slow motion.

A few meters before combat, a blue glow surrounded him, and he felt his body move. He did not go airborne, but scraped against the floor in agony, narrowly dodging the deadly mouth. He held his weapon and fired the beam right at the creatures eye, causing an ear-piercing shriek. He fell behind his teammates in the main courtyard.

Before it could get up, Aj lobbed an Avalanche round right into it's open mouth. And another. And a third. The beast's head began to solidify into ice, but its firey insides still resisted the Bose-Einstein condensate of supercooled material. The Vindicator and Carnifex rounds began to pierce the thing's flesh as light green blood began to spill.

Grunt saw the weapon's change, and bravely ran a meter in front of the creature. He had switched to his grenade launcher, and with a feral grin, heaved a heavy volley of explosives directly into its jaw. The beast screeched a final time in resistance.

A few more supercooled rounds finally froze the things head, and one last grenade shattered the thresher's skull into cooled pieces of flesh. The beast was dead.

Shepard tried to get up, but was met with Samara's cool gaze and a hand holding him down. He looked to his left and saw Tali with Aj's arm around her furiously typing into her omnitool; after a moment, the cool, relaxing feeling of medigel flowed throughout his body.

"Keelah Shepard what the hell was that?" Tali said exasperatedly.

A loud buzz momentarily interrupted the scene, signaling the end of the Rite. "I WANT MORE!" The krogan bellowed. He looked at Shepard, and actually looked concerned, but still looked out for more enemies. His battlemaster and krantt had taken out a maw...on foot. He would not let a flesh wound defeat this human.

Shepard's flesh hung losely from some parts of his shoulder, but thankfully, he could still move his arm, if only barely. The burn reached from his shoulder to his forearm. A small amount of flesh was burnt on his hip as well, either from the dragging or the acid's quick dispersion. He tried to get up again, but Samara held him down. Looking at her human commander, she scowled and ordered. "Do not move or I will force you back down." Her tone left no room for arguments.

Tali was still typing into her omnitool, and he soon felt a rush of sedatives hit his body. For a moment, he panicked as his eyelids began to feel extremely heavy. But he glanced around him for a moment, and knew he was safe. The slight adrenaline boost kept him awake for one last moment.

"Shepard, what the fuck were you thinking?" Garrus said with a frown standing near Samara. "You were a second away from getting killed again damnit!" The turian seemed more distressed than angry with the second statement.

"Akuze..." He whispered before falling into unconciousness.

"Akuze..." Tali echoed as her commander lay asleep before them. "Where his entire squad got killed by those...monsters..." She shook her head, and Aj wrapped his arms around her petite frame.

"We have to get him to the Normandy fast." Garrus stated concerned. He'll be damned if he'll let his commander die on him now. Not after having his own ass saved just recently.

"I agree. We nee-" Tali was cut off by the sound of a tomkah appearing. However, it was not their krogan driver.

The new group of five krogan looked at the squad of...five, and then down at the human commander blissfully sleeping. The giant corpse of the maw still lay upon the left flank of the battlefield, and its eyes widened at the site.

It looked at Grunt, and said solemly. "You and your krantt killed the threshew maw. No warrior has done that since Urdnot Wrex himself." He looked at the human, and shook his head. "Won't die. Surprising for a human."

"I am a true krogan." Grunt said flatly with a grin.

"No, you are not. You are the creation of a syringe, but by Warlord Okeer and only he?" The other, who now was recognizable as Gatanog Uvenk again, said lowly.

Grunt snarled at the statement, and replied. "I am a krogan from his and many others bloodline."

Gatanog shook his head again, gaining another lower snarl from the youngster. "You can join my clan now that you have proven yourself worthy." He looked at the aliens. "None of them could do what you did today." Looking back at Grunt, Uvenk offered. "You would be a clan member in name, no breeding rights and you could only serve with fellow clan mates."

Grunt looked at the group behind him, and decided one important thing. His krantt did what nobody else had done. He didn't give a damn if they weren't as tough as he was in his eyes. "You are weak, as is your clan."

Uvenk's eyes flared, and he pulled out his shotgun. The squad behind Grunt readied themselves for the likely attack. "You will either join us or die!"

Aj took the liberty of shooting a condensate round right into Gatanog's torso, snap freezing everything below the heart...s. Grunt laughed, and walked right to his face. "A true warrior never bows to the weak." He punched the krogan's chest shattering his body into ice.

The remaining four krogan had been stunned by the sudden...cold turn of events. They immediately began firing.

Grunt charged one tackling and beating it to death, while another came up behind him. Before he could assault the warrior, Samara threw a carefully aimed Reave right at its hump. Grunt's only inconvenience was gurgled blood on his hump's armor. Whether that was a positive or negative was an unknown.

Garrus and Tali concentrated their fire on the nearby krogan. Tali's Scimitar at its torso while Garrus pelted the face made short work of the creature. Aj's beam rifle began firing at the end, along with the other four, took down the final krogan in likely an excess use of ammo.

"That was easy." Grunt bellowed happily after pulverising the krogan beneath him to death.

"We need to get Shepard back now!" Garrus screeched again, more angrily.

Tali and Aj ran to the tomkah's driving seats while Samara and Garrus gently lifted Shepard into the vehicle. Grunt was the last one in, making sure every enemy was dead. The Rite was complete, and after a few seconds of Tali's omnitool wonders, the trip back to base began.

Samara looked at the commander's shoulder and remembered what she'd thought earlier. _A leader who truly will do anything for his loyal followers. One who inspires..._ She weakly smiled at the human, something she'd done more in her two days with this new crew than the four hundred years she had tracked Morinth.

Garrus looked at her with a confused expression. "What are you smiling at Samara?" Grunt glanced over, still grinning at the recent accomplishments.

She was momentarily stunned from her mental lapse, but answered in her normal voice. "The commander is like no other leader I have ever met before."

"He's a true battlemaster." Grunt said agreeing with the sentiment.

"He'll be okay." Garrus said but unconvincingly.

Noticing his demeanor, Samara answered the unspoken uncertainty. "I doubt he will suffer in combat from this. He has proven himself most resilient in his travels as I see."

Garrus looked at her coldly. "You don't see everyone die around you, then die, coming out the same. It's not the damn flesh wound, it's what's happened before. This stunt today proves it. He needs us just as much as we need him."

The other two looked at their fallen leader wordlessly.

Samara looked back at Garrus, who was glancing also at his human brother. Meeting his eyes, she responded in an unusually low voice. "We will be there. He has a second chance, and will not waste it."


	30. Krogan Paradise pt 3

When the tomkah had arrived, Garrus and Samara quickly carried Shepard towards the shuttle. Garrus had asked Tali and Aj to make sure everything went well with Wrex about the Rite; he was still unsure what the confrentation meant.

The triage walked past the camp, but it seemed...different. There were no more stares of anger. Most of the krogan seemed to awknowledge their presence without any sort of anger or disapproval. To them, they were accepted?

Wrex's toothy grin had been visible since they entered the small campsite, but when they got nearby, it was a full fledged cutlery debout. The couple stayed a few steps back as this was Grunt's day. Before the triage could speak, Wrex began. "Nobody has slain a thresher maw since I undertook the Rite many years ago." For a moment, his eyes slipped undoubtedly into his own passage, but he continued. "You have shown your prowess, Urdnot Grunt, and are welcomed into my clan as a full member."

Grunt nodded, but had to ask. "Gatanog offered me a position as a member, without breeding rights or the ability to serve with aliens."

"What did you do?" Wrex could tell by the young warriors grin it wasn't anything he'd disapprove of.

"My krantt destroyed his krantt." He said flatly, but a little bit of pride krept in.

"Haha! No more of his idiocy, good!" After a few more low chuckles, he added "Have you chosen a battlemaster?"

Grunt took a knee, likely from the imprint's wisdom. "I have chosen Commander Shepard, he has no equal."

If a krogan chose an alien battlemaster, it was often frowned upon. However, Wrex was ecstatic. _Another true warrior would be here, another Urdnot. Shepard had began this change for me, and he continues to aid the krogan people._ "That is a wise choice, Urdnot Grunt. Where is he at?" He asked as Grunt got back up.

"He was injured by thresher acid." Grunt said in a softer tone than normal.

Wrex immediately stood up, but thankfully Tali jumped to the occasion. "Wrex, he's okay, just some arm and hip burns. He'll be fine."

"Acid stays in your bloodstream for days, it can burn out blood vessels." He growled, but not angrily. "Our clan has an antidote."

"May I see your omnitool Wrex?" Tali asked politely. She had noticed only clan members were carrying this model of the Logic Arrest.

Wrex looked at her for a moment, and took off his tool. A few krogan looked at him suspiciously, while the quarian typed furiously into the new tool. After about thirty seconds, she handed it back.

"I set up a secure channel to Shepard, mine, and Garrus's omnitools. And uh.." She started to wring her fingers. "And well. I added some shielding bonuses too."

When the krogan leader put back on his tool, he noticed the readouts were much more... efficient. He also clearly had three new data packets with the respective people's names. He typed into his omnitool and sent the information to Shepard and Garrus's omnitool to make sure.

Garrus answered with a voice call. "Wrex! Just sent it to our Dr., thanks for the heads up. How'd you get this channel set up?" He sounded relieved more than anything.

Wrex laughed and replied. "You left Tali down here, remember?"

After a chuckle himself, he continued. "Okay good, since I know you're eavesdropping Tali, Shepard woke up for a minute. He's sending down Mordin, Miranda, and Zaeed for the mission. I wouldn't expect them for an hour or two, Mordin refuses to leave until Shepard is stable. He managed to say 'Grunt, have fun with the krogan until we leave.' " The turian equivalent of a smirk was seen right before the line cut.

Grunt again seemed to approve of his battlemaster's orders, but still looked at Wrex before continuing. "I would like to meet my clan if we're done clan leader."

"Go on Grunt, you're one of us. No doubt you have a story to tell. Don't forget to check with the Shaman over there, he'll get you an omnitool as well." He said flashing another grin. The young warrior eagerly stomped away to meet his new comrades and acquire his new gift.

Tali looked at Aj and quietly asked. "What do you want to do on our little free time on Tuchanka?" His grin was a red alert that something she would not approve of was likely to occur. "Behave yourself keelah!" She added motherly.

Aj laughed a bit, then looked up at Wrex, who seemed slightly amused by her reaction. "Wrex, krogan clan leaders earn their place through combat, right?"

Wrex looked at the human, and for a split-second, actually thought he had a challenger. Deciding not to attack, he nodded.

"Does arm wrestling count?" He said still smirking.

"No, that is one of our few peaceful contests." The leader replied glad he wouldn't have to kill Tali's boyfriend.

"Well, you game?" Aj had no clue how close he was from being attacked by necessity. But if challenging a thousand year old 500lb warrior to an arm wrestling competition is your idea of a joyful endeavor, psychiatric assistance may be in order.

Tali shook her head, but decided not to interfere. _The bosh'tet deserves a broken arm anyways, she thought smiling._

Wrex eagerly went to a level pile of rubble, and within seconds, the two began their struggle. After thirty seconds of a near stalemate, other krogan had appeared to watch.

"You're even stronger than Grunt." Aj rumbled as sparks began to fly across his head and arm. Wrex had taken a small advantage.

"Age beats youth anyday." He rumbled right back, but then Aj surged and gained the slight lead. _Sparks?_

Another thirty seconds passed, and it was a stalemate still. The sparks were clearly visible to all the other clan members, but they didn't seem to really care. It was an interesting scene. The krogan leader began to slowly gain an advantage, as human muscles are not built for that kind of powerful endurance. It took a full twenty seconds for Wrex to finish him off. The krogan nearby roared their approval, but didn't insult the human. Anyone who could even survive Wrex's powerful arm for more than ten seconds wasn't a weakling.

"You're... one... strong old man..." Aj said clutching his right arm; it felt like it'd been to hell, trampled, burned, pissed on, burned again, trampled again, then sent back up with a crate of incendiary grenades.

"It was a good fight. I didn't know they made humans like that." He said proudly, but continued in a lighter tone. "What's up with the sparking?"

"I'm uh.. part synthetic" He said scratching the back of his neck. "Took a lot of engineering, and likely over a century of burning pain."

Wrex was now confused, a century? "I thought your kind lived at most to 200? You look like a kid."

"Yeah, I was in stasis." He replied happily. "But well, it's a strange set up."

Tali scurried by her man and put an arm around his waist. "You're an idiot Aj, you really think you'll beat the strongest krogan out there?"

Wrex showed another grin, and Aj just shrugged his shoulders. "Hey now pussy cat, practice makes perfect. Besides, when else will I get this chance?" He ended with a grin and a wince at Tali slapping his shoulder, the one inflammed with pain.

"Before he does anything else stupid, I had an idea earlier, Wrex." Tali said quickly before he in fact proved her case.

Wrex sat back down on his throne. "What've you got Tali?"

"I asked a krogan if he wanted me to upgrade his omnitool, but he said only the clan leader can make that request." She said shyly.

"Yeah, I didn't want people breaking those things, only have a few thousand right now, but I want to get one out to every Urdnot eventually. We need to learn before we can unite." He said solemly.

"Well..." She hesitated thinking for a moment. "I noticed you don't have any name indicators, only Urdnot shows up."

"Yes, the omnitools are all clear markings of a clan member." The krogan replied proudly.

"On the fleet, we have a program what shows where everyone is, their name, and if they're in any medical danger." Tali said suggestively. "Only top officials get access to it."

If a brain could make a clicking sound, Wrex's would have done it rather loudly. _A united krogan people will need to know who's who. Not just a clan member. To protect and prosper..._ Tali could tell by his new look that he was pondering the new information with a positive demeanor. "I can set up a program from your tool, and everyone will get a prompt to fill out. It'd have to be short I bet, but basic information like name and age I guess." She added. "It'd also let you contact an individual easily instead of the whole clan at once as you have it now."

"We krogan don't have anything we can give you guys in return." Wrex bluntly.

"That's fine Wrex, it's just a program." She said downplaying its worth.

He just shook his head. "A united krogan people all learning what it means to be in the galaxy, Tali. Just because we're powerful doesn't mean we always have to act like animals. We're better than that, I have faith in it now." He ended proudly and loudly, and everyone in the camp nodded in agreement. Part of the sentiment was limiting their roaring in non-combat situations.

"You seem to be doing a damn good job." Aj said looking at the krogans. It seemed like they were more defensive due to what they've experienced from most aliens. There was still the head plating and growling and such, but it was different. _'Wrex could control his anger, even during combat' Tali's words echoed._

Tali began transfering a file to Wrex's omnitool. His interface screen, and assuming the others, was nearly twice as large as a standard one. The file was oddly not under military protection, only to 'person's necessary for the information provided'. She believed Wrex fell into that. When the interface popped up to select channels, Tali deleted all the ones on his tool's current program. She changed the signal to clan Urdnot's, stating for names, ages, and Wrex insisted on weapons.

After twenty seconds, a name popped up. Urdnot Grezag was over one thousand years old, similar to Wrex, but...no weapons?

"Who's Urdnot Grezag?" She asked as the names began to trickle in faster and faster.

"She's the only krogan ecologist we've got. Working on fixing the planet." Wrex stated again proudly.

Tali and Aj just look at the names list slowly adding up. After a minute, it was over a thousand. Wrex turned off the display and looked up grinning. "I have something I think Aj could use Tali."

Both simoultaneously replied "What?"

Wrex just shook his head and rumbled something about 'bondmates'. He got up and motioned them over to the Shaman upstairs.

The Shaman looked up with a grin, "Were'd you get that Wrex? Making us less a clan more of a true race." He said thankfully.

Wrex motioned over to Tali, "Thank her and the quarians."

Aj and Tali barely held their disbelief. "Thank you" the Shaman replied bowing. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, that girl uses a shotgun, and her bondmate uses a rifle. Thought you might be able to fix that" The Shaman almost said something but Wrex held a hand up and continued. "He can take the punch, don't worry about that."

The Shaman nodded and walked to a room near the female ambassador, and came out with a...literal hand cannon.

"We got these at a discount after the company only made five thousand. Seems even the biotics didn't like the kickback." The Shaman stated handing it to Aj.

Both krogan laughed at how Aj's eyes got holding the weapon, an M-300 Claymore. "Damn Wrex, thanks!" He holstered the weapon and shook the krogan's arm, further agitating his soreness but worth it nonetheless.

"She'll train you." Wrex said pointing at the little quarian in the room.

"Last thing Wrex, know anything about a salarian scientist abduction?" Tali asked.

He quickly answered "The Weyrloc clan has a base nearby, mostly keep to themselves. Best bet is there, rest of the krogan are Urdnot. Kidnapping is a death sentence". He typed into his omnitool "Got you another ride whenever you need it there."

The duo was surpried for a moment, but nodded and thought back to the days events. They left the room rather high-spirited, and Wrex looked back at the throne, a few krogan had requested meetings. "I've got to get back to work, don't worry about the clan or Grunt. You're his krantt." He nodded and walked off.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Aj asked taking out his shotgun excitedly.

She pointed at the two tomkah's in the far corner. "Fix those tanks, keelah, that was terribly stabilized."

Aj's groan in response did not help, but he took the lead. Might be fun to work on a tomkah instead of a ship. "Turn them into driving Normandy's?"

"Bosh'tet" She said shaking her head. They made way to helping upgrade one of the vehicles. The mechanic was stalling it until he could find another combustion manifold and joined their group. He did not get to do much, unfortunately, and mostly just watched in awe.

After only an hour, the antidote's effects began to cleanse Shepard's system of any residual thresher maw acid. Due to the deep burns, literally to the bone, Dr. Chakwas insisted he stay asleep, however. Rebuilding nerves and muscle tissue wasn't difficult for her, just time consuming, she nearly had his body memorized by now it seemed.

Miranda, Zaeed, and Mordin left after his modified antidote for humans had taken effect. He was actually surprised it was of pure krogan origin. Likely due to they're one of the only races what actually survive thresher maw encounters.

After informing Aj and Tali that they were headed down, the two grease monkeys went to join their team by the throne base. Miranda was the first one to speak. "EDI located a Blood pack base, we ne-"

"We've got a ride there waiting on us Miranda" Aj said gleefully.

She looked surprised for a moment, and retorted. "Shepard's out for this mission, he asked me to lead it." Seeing no objections from the two newcomers, she and the group made way to the tomkahs.

After a few seconds on the ride, Zaeed blurted out. "What the fuck? The last times I've rode one of these bastards the guddam thing was terrible." He motioned to the ground.

"We got bored." Tali said shrugging. Aj nodded in agreement.

The ride to the building was short. A few vorcha, krogan (not Urdnot the driver said), and klixen were on the road, but the upgraded tomkah was able to eliminate them and bring the team all the way across the bridge.

They exited the vehicle's left side and were in the sights of a few varren and vorcha. Miranda and Mordin's Locusts went right to the varren, and Zaeed snipped a vorcha with a flamethrower. Aj and Tali charged wordlessly and each blasted a couple of vorcha, hers shattering and his turning to ash. Oddly, he was nearly as effective as her. The rest of the crew noticed they used nearly the exact same stances and techniques. The rest hadn't taken the time to upgrade, unfortunately.

After a few seconds, the remaining vorcha were picked off by combined close range shotguns blasts from the couple and a few torn apart by the Locusts. Zaeed had taken two shots and killed the only krogan.

Turning to the building's entrance, Aj blasted a nearby unsuspecting vorcha and again the Locusts shredded the futher two. Zaeed switched to his Vindicator and had taken out a third.

"Tali open t-" Miranda stopped and managed a small smile, noticing the quarian was en route, with her tool flaring to life. _Shepard's team is incredibly well-trained, even the ali...non-human crew._

"Got it" Tali stated as the door opened.

As they walked down the slight incline, Zaeed looked at Aj's weapon. "Where ta fuck did you get a claymore?" He questioned loudly.

"A krogan present." He said laughing.

"Next you're gunna tell me they shit eezo." The mercenary said shaking his head.

Before anyone could retort at the disturbing image, Mordin kneeled at a human body Grimly, he said. "Repeated injection marks, no signs of damage. Human test patient, likely kept living due to... distorted...organ systems degredation."

"What the hell?" Miranda said incrediously.

"Do not know. Likely for use in genophage cure, targetting human glands. Human genes extremely pliable." Noticing the looks, he added. "Never used live patients myself for ethical purposes."

Satisfied, but now rather uneasy, the team headed down the hall to an unlocked bulkhead. "Hint of antiseptic...and burnt flesh." The doctor stated.

The rest of the team had definitely noticed, but Tali only shook her head. "Sometimes, I'm glad my suit has olfactory filters."

"Damn suits." Zaeed grumbled.

They went into the room, and noticed a gurney. A krogan laid upon it. Mordin ran up with his tool, pushed and dragged a few times, and shook his head.

"Dead. Assuming krogan hospital. Live test subject, no restraints. Contains human DNA sequences. Infertile female. Still, wasted potential."

"This is what the genophage has reduced the krogan to...desperation." Aj grumbled.

"What? Genophage was necessary!" Mordin barked loudly.

"By killing their children?" Tali said angrily. "By forcing them to give birth to death?"

Mordin softened, but continued. "All simulations predicted a continued Krogan rebellion; limitting population to pre-space flight levels stabilizes galaxy and their own species."

"So why not just kill them off?" Miranda questioned.

"Genocide unethical." He simply stated.

"So, prolonging it a few generations is ethical?" Aj asked monotonely.

"It was highly effective... possibly too effective after altering."

"WHAT?" Tali yelled. "Altered?"

Mordin's eyes opened wider. "Cannot divulge any more, STG."

Before the situation could escalade, Miranda ordered, "Form up, live patient located."

All the five crew members lined up to the sitting krogan. Mordin waved his tool over it and said. "Limited treatment, subject stable. Non-contagious."

"You need to leave. We're clearing the hospital." Miranda ordered to it.

"I can't." The krogan replied weakly, it had an Urdnot omnitool, but it was deactivated.

"Can administer stimulants." Mordin suggested.

"No, I was caught. I am weak." It looked down for a moment before continuing. "Weyrloc has a salarian, curing the genophage." Mordin's face contorted angrily. "He will bring the krogan to glory. If I help, I mattered . I'm too small to ever mate with the females."

"Unstable mentally." Mordin claimed.

"Only Urdnot can bring the krogan to glory, cure or not." Tali said.

"If Weyrloc controls the cure, they'll attack, finishing off your species genocide." Aj added.

"No, Weyrloc will help the Urdnot!" It growled back.

Aj laughed, "They captured you for tests, like a pet, and you think they want to help your clan? I bet you're not even their first victim."

The krogan stood up, as in deep thought. "I will go back." He said lowly.

Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, Aj tried another approach. "You? You said you were weak!"

The krogan growled at him, but before he answered, "It'd take a real bad ass to make it to the camp, not one sitting here whining like a quarian with a tummy ache."

"I'm right here!" Tali remarked, but it was ignored.

"I WILL MAKE IT TO CAMP AND MATE WITH THE FEMALES!" It growled proudly.

"Damn right you will, now go, go!"

It roared again and stomped off with a new determination in its step.

"I can't believe that worked..." Tali said lowly.

"Now Tali, I'm sorry, but we did not pack any dextro antacids." Miranda said with a big smile, getting a laugh out of Aj and Zaeed.

Tali punched Aj in the gut and wagged a long finger at his face. "I will get you back you det kazuat!"

Slightly winded, Aj waved her off and slipped into an embrace, whispering "You know I love you Tali".

"Little quarian's got an arm on her, eh?" Zaeed said happily.

"Before they decide to sneak off and make up, we should get going." Miranda exclaimed, getting a nod from all except a glare from Tali. Aj's childish humor was on cloud nine, as he laughed again.

They left that particular room, and arrived at a few krogan and vorcha on a ledge. "Trespassers, you are intruding on Weyrloc Guld's territory!"

Aj noticed a pipe underneath them with a clear 'flammable' sign under it. The krogan kept bellowing something about rising to slaughter enemies when he nudged Zaeed.

"What?" He grumbled.

"Look under the loudmouth. One sniper round..." He trailed off. Tali looked also and wrapped her arm around him, actually approving it seemed.

The mercenary looked confused for a minute, squinted, and a grin confirmed his plans. He shot the tube with a sniper round. It immediately exploded, killing the three krogan and two vorcha. Miranda and Mordin quickly picked off the other two with their Locusts.

"Glad you shut that thing up." was all Miranda said. Technically insubordination, the krogan's ramblings were quite annoying.

After having to jump across the ledges brand new flaming hole, they appeared at an area with two ledges. The hopsital likely had a safer room down stairs, so they headed that direction.

Noticing a few krogan body guards, the team reacted quickly. Tali and Aj both sent an Incinerate at one, turning it to ash. One of Tali's fireballs hit a nearby krogan also, which Zaeed managed to get a few good bursts on, dropping it. The third and final was dealt an Incinerate from Mordin, and Miranda and his Locust's finished the job.

Down the stairs, a couple more bodyguards awaited, these ones combat alerted. They had closed the distance, which unfortunately was nearer to two shotguns. The duo both shot at one, blasting it to both ash and ice shards, while the other dealt with the other three's fire. It was dead nearly as quick.

Before crossing the bridge, an incredibly armored krogan left the door in their path.

"YOU WILL DIE BY THE HANDS OF WEYRLOC GULD ALIENS!" It roared its general displeasure at the group, and charged shotgun in hand. A few varren and six krogan followed close behind.

Zaeed threw an incendiary grenade at one krogan, killing it quickly. Miranda biotically threw most of the varren off the ledge, while Mordin finished the rest. Tali sent out Chiktikka vas Paus at the krogan, which ran right through it. Aj began to charge right at it.

Before contact, he jumped out of its body mass and lowered a kick directly into its knee, dropping Guld for a moment. Tali charged along with him, sending out an Incinerate and a blast at a nearby krogan, killing it. Zaeed had taken down another with his accurate Vindicator rounds, while Miranda and Mordin took down a different one together.

Guld got up and all he saw was a quarian charging right at him. Aj was about to shoot him when he shot up and charged Tali. She was knocked a few feet back and rolled against the ground, unmoving.

Aj saw the scene, and charged right at the krogan claymore in hand. He noticed the slight glimmer of shielding, and focused a moment beforehand, overloading them. He punched it with every ounce of power he had right on its nose, staggering the clan leader. It grabbed its snout, and roared, aiming a punch of its own, hitting him right in the chest. He flew a few feet back, dazed and hardly able to breathe.

Miranda had thrown a warp and finished one, and Zaeed and Mordin teamed on another, killing it. They both looked up from cover to see Aj on the ground, the hulking krogan aiming a shotgun at his face.

_He opened his eyes to see a shotgun barrel inches from his face. Closing his eyes, he thought of only one person, Tali'Zorah vas Neema._ _ He instantly saw her face not the visor, but her true beautiful face, the moment before they first kissed. Now... now, I'll never get to ma-_

A high pitched screech followed by a shotgun blast stopped his thoughts, but he kept his eyes closed, still barely concious by the blow.

When the three saw the krogan over him, they were about to charge, but a scream stopped them. The krogan looked up and aimed at the now recharging quarian girl. She barrel rolled away from the shot and stabbed the krogan right in the chest with her left hand, and shot its face with her shotgun with her right, multiple times. The shotgun flew out of her hands, breaking one of her fingers.

Weyrloc Guld's body fell beside Aj's, but his no longer breathed at all.

Aj opened his eyes, and saw the familiar eyes he'd fallen in love with. "Tali!" He croaked, and got up to a sitting position. "You're okay..." He whispered more for himself to hear aloud. He heard footsteps behind him.

"Tali, your finger!" Miranda screeched. She had warmed up to the crew immesureably recently, even caring for their well beings.

Aj looked at her kneeling form beside him, and then at her right hand. Her right finger was bent at an impossible angle backwards.

Tali didn't even pay attention to her empathy, and merely was just sitting by Aj, staring at him. "Aj?" She whispered. He grabbed her good hand in his.

"We're okay." He said calmly. He heard her sniffle once, and nod.

_Tali was terrified, 'one second was a blurry scene of a shotgun in his face, and the next...' She hardly remembered. But now, she was sitting by him, holding his hand, and her other hand was being scanned by Mordin. 'I... will talk about it later. I... I need to focus.'_

"Miss Zorah, finger easily mendable. Almost at destination, applying sedatives and bonding bones together. Will rebreak on the Normandy to heal." He said. "Hormone levels skyrocketting, applying mild sedatives. When he said rebreak, Aj winced, but knew it was a necessity.

Noticing she was still staring at him, but felt a calming sensation throughout her body. Aj got up, squeezing her hand. "Tali, are you okay?"

She was still staring off, not even thinking. "Sorry, yes.. I'm fine." She said lowly and hesitantly.

_Was that her screaming? I'll talk to after this, she doesn't seem okay at al..._

Aj refused to let go of her hand, and she was more than happy to oblige. The squad descended down a final flight of stairs, and saw a salarian typing into a giant computer screen, not restrained or even surrounded by guards.

"No restrains, no guards, still working. Not abducted? Maelon?" Mordin said confused for a rare moment in life.

"For such a smart man Dr. Solus" The salarian said. "I came here to fix our mistake!"

"Genophage alteration necessary, krogan were adapting. Need to stabilize population!" Mordin yelled angrily. Tali tensed up and squeezed Aj's hand a little harder.

"No, we killed and ruined the krogan species." Maelon said dejectedly.

"Why help Weyrloc? Urdnot can actually integrate into the galaxy." Aj suggested.

"They wouldn't allow my procedures" He snapped back.

"Living test subjects, artificial genetic manipulation!" Mordin screamed.

Maelon pulled out a pistol, and said. "We've already got the blood of an entire species on our hands, doctor. If a few more are all it takes, than I'm willing to do it." He aimed it at Mordin, who swiped it out of his hand; it hit the floor uselessly.

Mordin punched him in the face, dropping the scientist to the ground. He aimed his pistol at his head.

"MORDIN!" Miranda yelled.

"You're not a murderer." Tali calmly said in the insuing silence.

"No.. not a murderer. Thank you Tali'Zorah." He sheathed his pistol, and took Maelon's from the ground. "Finished Maelon. Leave before I change mind."

"Where am I supposed to go?" Maelon barked with a bloody nose.

"I don't care. Omega always needs more clinics." He said waving him off. Maelon looked at the heavily armed group, and ran off noting his possible mind changing.

After a moment of typing into the larger terminal, Mordin said outloud. "Lots of data, may help genophage cure later. Should destroy it."

"What your people did to the krogan was wrong Mordin." Aj said.

Whatever Maelon hit him hard, as his voice wavered. "Had...no other...choice...data predicted..."

"Keep the data Mordin. The krogan are evolving. Maybe someday, they'll be able to control themselves." Tali responded.

Miranda and Zaeed looked shocked, but Aj added. "Besides, any data is worth keeping. Right now, all those people died for nothing. Even if it's not the cure, maybe it can help some other way." He agreed with Tali, but new he needed to convince Mordin.

"Correct, data and lives worthless if removed. Maybe can be repurposed or used someway, still valuable readings." He swiped the terminal, and it deactivated after a few moments. "Data retrieved, local copy terminated. STG will cover up all traces of Maelon and his research." He sounded extremely distraught, so nobody perused any further. It was over.

Mordin was thinking the entire time back, not even noticing the group's incredibly silent demeanor. _Do the krogan deserve a second chance?_ He cringed passing the room with a dead krogan, a testament to a species struggle to reproduce another living being.

**Det kazuat:** Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. The Otquer, a large predatory lizard, will pass its meal neatly wrapped in a membranous tissue. Inside the sack, the enzymes used to break down the meat of the prey while still in the lizard continue to act as a stimulant keeping the indigestible brain synapses of its last meal still working until the sun dries the sack out.


	31. Finding Yourself

The group made their way back to the Urdnot camp, only pausing when Tali spotted a mostly intact tomkah. She and Aj quickly removed a combustion manifold, to the confusion of the rest of the crew. Throughout the short trek back, she seemed mentally distant. Not as in attempting to ignore him, but her mind was elsewere.

Aj was also thinking about what happened, what his last thoughts were._ Everyday is a chance at losing her, or even myself... She deserves something more official than just dating. I don't want anyone else...ever._

_Is talking with Samara even a good idea? Then he'll think I'm forcing him into marriage or...too alien...No, not that. He's seen me already, and he called me beautiful. Keelah, why is this so confusing...She felt like something was missing._

Once they got back to the camp, Miranda, Mordin, and Zaeed headed towards the shuttle, but the couple asked for a few minutes before leaving.

"Don't forget Grunt down there" Miranda stated as they turned into the alley by the shuttle.

Aj and Tali nodded, and walked back to find the mechanic they'd worked with earlier. Aj was carrying the manifold, which he likely would still need. He seemed to be rather busy tinkering underneath one of the tanks. "Hello?" Aj said hesitantly.

"What?" He replied slightly annoyed. "Wait, you're with that quarian!" The second sentence seemed a lot less angry, and the reptile began to squirm out from the working area.

Finally getting out of the tank, the krogan happily exclaimed, "Got that tomkah you fixed, copied the specs and appyling it to the others. Working better than ever now!"

Aj held out the manifold. "No problemo, and we, well she, found this out in the field, think it'll do?" Tali nodded her head.

The krogan carefully took the piece of metal and examined it for a bit, going from concentrated to grinning momentarily. "This is fully salvageable!" He happily roared.

"Glad we could help" Aj said, shaking his hand and walking away hand in hand with a certain female. Tali had barely spoken.

"Something wrong Tali?" Aj perused, stopping and tightening his grip.

Tali audibly sighed, but looked back up smiling. "It's about Samara". Noticing his eyebrow perk, she continued. "To speak of Rannoch is... painful. None of the fleet have seen its beauty in person, we only dream of it. I'm nervous about what she'll say, or if what she'll say will hurt." She replied partially true. _'Or the fact that maybe she will explain things I don't think he should know yet' her mind echoed somberly._

"Well, I'll be there for you the entire talk." Aj said calmly with a smile.

Noticing her perk up, he started walking, still gently squeezing her small uninjured hand. The three/five digit configuration was almost second nature to both of them now. "Unless...you'd prefer I stay here with the krogan for a while." He added after a few seconds of walking.

Tali thought for a moment how it'd feel to be light years away from him, and did not enjoy it. She squeezed his hand even harder. "If you stay I'll stay." She quipped truthfully.

Gladly, he had heard nearly all of the displeasure from before gone, and they approached the throne o'Wrex. "Good, I wouldn't want anyone else beside me." He added, and was rewarded with a quarian hug, and a few amused looks from nearby krogan.

Soon, they saw the old leader himself. "Hey Wrex, we finished up!" Tali said excitedly as they made way. The krogan guards hadn't even checked twice to see who it was. The quarian and human pair were on good terms it seemed.

"Excellent! Do you if the clan leader was there?" Wrex questioned.

"I think so, Tali do you have the footage?" Aj asked afterwards.

Knowing which krogan they were referring to, she typed into her omnitool and sent the vid to Wrex. "I'll see you later Wrex." She nearly whispered, and walked towards the shuttle.

Wrex seemed confused at the reaction, so Aj lowly added. "She saved my life down there, I don't know if she wants to see it again."

The krogan nodded, and they both proceeded to watch the vid beginning at the speaker on the ledge. Wrex's bellow of laughter nearly scared him, but he couldn't surpress a grin at Zaeed's beautiful explosion. The rest of the vid was uneventful, but Wrex snarled when he saw Weyrloc Guld, and paused it.

"That's the pathetic Guld." He grumbled shaking his head.

"He was taken care of." Aj said without pride, more so sadness.

Wrex also noticed the slight change of inflection, but again did not comment. As soon as he saw the human charge, he seemed glued to the screen. _Fights like a krogan, Wrex thought approvingly._

Then Guld punched his chest, knocking him to the ground. Both saw the shotgun inches away from Aj's face, but then a screech was heard. A terribly angry and high pitched screech, one the human had never heard previously. Aj saw how quickly Tali had moved out of the blast, and...stabbed him one handedly, while shooting a shotgun one handed into its face...impressively. The krogan stopped the film, closing his tool.

"Tali is one hell of a fighter. Took down one of the strongest krogan here." Wrex said proudly, but continued before rebuttal. "I haven't seen that in a quarian in a long time. Only the kids leave their ships nowadays."

"I don't understand." Aj questioned. _Samara said her people's ways, and now this? 'Haven't seen that' as in a specific reaction or event? So damn confusing sometimes...but worth it._

"I doubt I can explain it better than she could." He answered, "But I can tell you that you need to take care of her, she deserves it."

"Don't worry, I plan on it." He mentioned happily. Continuing in a lighter tone, "She told me you two were good friends. Thank you."

Wrex was not often used to this kind of communication. "I didn't do anything."

"You were there for her. She told me you were always her 'mentor' and even had a little nickname." He added with a smirk. "It's nice to know the krogan are being lead by someone who cares about his entire team, and soon, species."

"She was a kid back then." Wrex said in the lowest tone of the day. "But she's grown up a lot."

"I'll make sure she stays safe." Aj said, extending out his arm to the leader.

"Good, strike the fear of your krantt into all those who oppose your way." He said grinning. He typed into his omnitool for a few moments. "They're leaving soon."

"Grunt?" He asked.

"Yeah, he'll meet you at the shuttle he said."

"Got it, good luck." He replied walking towards the ticket off the planet. _Here I am, on the krogan homeworld, and I almost don't want to go. They could really use the help, and seem to be headed in the right direction. Damn, never thought I'd be sad to leave. _

When he got to the shuttle, Grunt was telling his story to the blunt welcoming party from before. They seemed rather excited at hearing how the krantt slaughtered the world's biggest beast. After letting him finish, Aj motioned to the shuttle, and the group ascended to the Normandy.

"Was it the right krogan?" Tali asked him quietly.

"Yeah, he said he's proud of you." He summarized. "That was one of the strongest clan leaders out there." He waited for a moment, then grabbed her left hand again gently. "Thank you for saving my life, twice now."

She seemed a bit surprised, but leaned into him the rest of the way. "I'll always be here for you." She whispered lovingly.

"And I for you." He responded, pulling her closer with his right arm around her. _I don't understand. I've barely known this woman for a month and a half, and I couldn't imagine another day without her. _The couple sat together unaware of the rest of the crew.

Miranda looked at the couple, and felt a little...jealous. She wasn't really interested in Aj, but she really had never been in a loving relationship. Even her fling with Jacob wasn't truly emotional, and barely even physical.

After a few minutes of the perfect woman's daydreaming and the interspecies couples' relaxation... "Get up ya lazy bastards, shuttles here." Zaeed blared.

As soon as he entered the airlock, Tali in hand, they went down to the med bay to see their commander. Even Grunt came down with them, and satified at seeing the human alive, walked back to his spot in engineering. Thankfully, Shepard was concious while Dr. Chakwas and Mordin both were rebuilding his muscle and skin.

"Hey Shepard, glad you're okay." Aj began as the couple walked in.

"Seems I'll be fine, I owe Wrex a dinner after that antidote. Mordin had it working for humans in less than an hour." He stated gladly.

"Tali'Zorah must repair finger." Mordin interjected. "Must use sterile environment to reopen wound and correctly set bone, come to the AI core."

Sighing, she reluctantly let go of Aj's hand and trudged towards the room, looking back for a moment then continuing. Aj couldn't keep his eyes off her realk until she was out of sight. _Even just a few minutes feels like hell without her...I need to ta-_

"How'd she break her finger?" Shepard asked, breaking his mental lapse.

"Oh, she shot her Scimitar with one hand, and the kickback was a bit too strong." He replied nonchalantly.

"Why the hell did she have it in one hand?" Shepard questioned, slightly angry at her foolish antics.

"Her other hand was holding a knife, which so happened to be in a krogan's chest." He answered showing a bit of anger in return. "Shot its face off and saved my life."

Shepard smiled and added in a lighter tone. "Oh, sorry, thought you were trying to teach her some new moves and got her hurt." He pointed at his claymore.

Aj smiled weakly in return, looking at the AI room. "I won't ever hurt her." He nearly whispered.

"Well, that's great; better get used to that new shotgun." Shepard said grinning. "Doubt she'll let you use your rifle ever again."

Chuckling, Aj continued. "It was incredible, but inaccurate even for a shotgun. I don't understand how our fighting works though."

A bit confused, Shepard asked. "How what works?"

"Seems like when we're in combat, we don't even have to talk. We just know were each other are, and what we're about to do."

"Whatever works, but you sound like it's bothering you."

"Not bothering." Aj corrected quickly. "Just... confusing that's all. I...I hope she's okay." He ended looking at the door.

"Remember, that's Mordin, Tali will be fine, and its just a broken finger. She's a tough girl." Deciding that the mood was a bit too somber, "Apparently he's an expert on human anatomy according to a certain engineer" He ended smirking. A light gasp came from the elderly human doctor.

Aj raised an eyebrow at the commander. "Might need to see if he's got anything on quarians then, you know, even the odds."

"Oh? What area in particular?" The commander cracked. Shepard's smirk went right into a fit of laughter. Dr. Chakwas did not seem to approve.

"Oh goodness, don't you even think of hurting that poor innocent girl." She scolded the commander, but ended looking right at Aj.

"Hey now, don't give me that look!" He said defensively. "Besides, she didn't get sick after taking off her visor!"

Shepard's grin increased, while Dr. Chakwas had a look of shock. The commander exclaimed "Hah! I thought Garrus was lying!"

"She took off her mask with you?" The doctor asked lowly.

"Yeah, the first day we got here, over a week ago. And uh, well once after the mission on Alchera." He said shyly.

The doctor pulled up her omnitool and repeatedly looked at it then him. After a few seconds, she finally spoke. "Her scans indicate foreign material was in fact introduced recently. You only looked at her face it seems." She ended in a happier tone.

"Why do you think that?" Aj asked, but immediately regretted it. Shepard's grin continued to grow, but the doctor had a slight frown.

"Well, the amount of foreign material was so low, I don't think anything ...more physical... could have happened. It'd be present in higher amounts for a while longer." The doctor said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I kissed her both times." He said blushing slightly. "Nothing else. Even made sure not to swallow any dextro fluid, hard not to."

"You know you're probaly the first human to ever kiss a quarian." Shepard interjected quickly. His grin had become a real smile, however.

Aj shrugged his shoulders. "She's beautiful. Hell, when I was born we humans were still looking for alien bacteria. Now I'm with a woman from the other side of the galaxy. Normalcy seems to be a very distant goal."

"And... don't forget that minor detail." Noticing Aj's face slightly discolor, and the doctor looking at him inquisitively, "He was arm wrestling krogan." The commander added tattle-taling.

"WHAT!?" The doctor exclaimed loudly. "What the hell were you thinking?" She said in an extremely motherly tone, the angry 'just-got-caught-pissing-in-the-milk' kind of tone. "Sit down immediately." She ordered.

Sulking and complying, the doctor stopped her repair of Shepard's arm and scanned his right arm. She began to shake her head in disapproval. "Told you she'd be a little unhappy Aj." Shepard stated smugly.

"Thanks amigo." Aj grumbled.

After finishing her scanning, she spoke up. "Luckily, you only have a little bruising, but don't push your luck." At that moment Tali and Mordin came out of the room; Shepard managed to hold down his snicker.

"Let's let the two good doctors do their work, shall we?" Aj said reaching for her good hand as she quickly strided towards him. He was not too thrilled to hear what Dr. Chakwas had to say.

"Okay!" She squeaked happily back near him.

"Need to speak with both of you at a later date." Mordin mentioned before the door closed. Dr. Chakwas nodded in agreement.

"You know were to find us." He answered.

After finally exiting the med bay, they made their way to the elevator, but stopped before getting in. Aj asked, "How's your hand honey?"

She wiggled the other two fingers, and the injured one barely moved. Sighing, she answered. "It'll be fine, just annoying until then."

"See, five fingers are more handy. If one breaks or falls off, we've got plenty of spares." He snidely remarked.

"Bosh'tet!" She said shaking her head, but stopped and looked up at him smiling. "You always know how to cheer me up." She added softly. She tensed for a moment and her eyes widened. "You shed your fingers!?"

Aj started laughing, "No it's just a joke Tali."

"Good, I was about to say... keelah how bad would that be in the middle of a fight!"

"Actually, speaking of fighting..." He started, while she looked at him attentively. "Have you noticed when we fight, we're always...well..." He trailed off unable to articulate his thoughts.

"Fighting as one?" Tali answered.

Nodding, he replied, "Yeah, and Samara said something about your ways. I... I think I might... Nevermind, we should talk to her."

She noticed his hesitation, and really wanted to inquire, but had her own...issues. "Aj, I need to talk to Shala, privately... it's... important." Tali hoped he would not try to peruse.

"Okay, I'll go chat with Samara. Say hi to your Auntie for me!" He said, now noticing her hesitation. Anything she needed privately was likely not by choice. "One thing though."

Tali glanced up with shimmering eyes, both hopeful and slightly nervous. "I love you, Tali'Zorah vas Neema." He said gently while smiling. He lifted up her hurt hand, and kissed the injured finger.

Her eyes quickly switched to a smile, and she blushed as soon as he kissed her finger. "I love you too Aj..." She whispered, feeling more confident. "Don't take too long!" She added with a slight giggle.

They walked away, holding hands until the last possible moment. Aj went to Samara's room, while Tali slowly descended the elevator.

Aj entered the room, were the justicar was calmly meditating. "Hello Samara."

Her blue aura did not dissipate, and she patted the area near her on the floor. Confused for a moment, Aj slowly walked towards her and sat down.

She turned momentarily and smiled. "I am surprised Tali is not with you."

"Well, she's busy right now. She's worried talking about Rannoch will make her sad." He stated quietly.

"I see, what did you wish to speak about?" She replied stoicly.

"I was hoping since you've been to Rannoch, you could tell me how they lived, and uh... something else." He stammered the last bit.

"I can explain, or I can show you."

"Show me?" He said questioningly. "I heard your species could look into other people's minds, but I can look into yours?"

"If I allow it, yes." She paused for a moment. "Normally it is only done to a bonded pair, or very close friends. I do not know you well enough to say the second, but it may assist you with your own lifemate. That is worthy of the gift."

"Lifemate sounds like more than just together for life, well, at least how I've seen her behave."

"Are you worried for her?" The ancient warrior asked, turning her body to his, both seated.

"I'm worried that I'm just not quarian. I love her with every fiber in my body. Id do anything for her, but I don't want to hurt her..." He ended somberly.

"If you mean what you say, that will suffice. Her kind forms a deeper bond than most."

"Okay. I'll do whatever I can for her."

"Do not worry Aj, now focus. Relax your mind, take slow, deep breaths. The strings what bind us, all life, are all one unit. Life is one soul, in many different forms. Accept this, know yourself." She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. "Embrace eternity."

_He relaxed, and began focusing his mind. He looked down at his hands, and they were blue. It was her memory, and she had a fresh cut wound, but looked back forward. There were hundreds of quarians in the city, and even a few geth carrying crates. Their lavender skins seemed much darker, one of them was yelling, his front four extra-sharp teeth clearly visible. She looked up at the orange sun after a few steps forward, a deep, rich orange-red. There wasn't much wildlife, but the tree in the courtyard looked much like an African savannah's tree, but much thinner. The scene faded as she waked towards a building..._

_He saw another scene, with many people in cheering at a pair of quarians. One was male, and the other female. The male said something unhearable from her distance, and handed her a metal bracelet, it seemed to be about 5 cm long, but it was hard to tell. The woman accepted it, and they kissed right after. He assumed it was a marriage, but the scene again faded..._

_Another scene flashed infront of him, one in the wild. She was in a forest of the strange trees, with a group of five quarians, two of them were standing closer to each other than normal. It was dark outside, but the silver eyes of each quarian were extremely bright in the dimness._

_'We must continue' A quarian said, looking at the sky._

_'Why risk our lives in the dark? This asari beast cannot be hiding in a world she cannot feed in.' Another said._

_Samara's eyes momentarily shuddered, but it was only an instant. After a few more seconds, suddenly, heavy fire began to come at the group. Samara quickly pulled a barrier around her and the nearby squad mates, but one of the quarians was killed. It was the female who was standing close by a male. The male kneeled at her body, swiping an omnitool over her. He began screaming, and charged directly into the fire, leaving the barrier._

_'We must retreat.' Samara said calmly._

_'And leave him to die!?' One yelled at her._

_'He will join his lifemate with the Ancestors.' She replied._

_The group nodded, and wearily ran back away._

The scene began to fade to a calm darkness, and he heard her voice. "Are these sufficient, Aj?"

"Yes, thank you. I've learned a lot. Do you wish to see something unique?" He inquired.

"Do you wish for me to enter a piece of your mind?" She stated questioningly, well, stated as the darkness continued throughout.

"Yes, Earth before we met alien life."

Her voice seemed, confused at this. "We will see, humans do not normally live this long."

_He focused on the time he spent at MIT; he showed her the field expedition they had done in Maine, walking for hours among the tall trees. The cars they used, all gasoline powered. The equipment they used to study, the plane they used to fly back, everything minor he could think of._

_The scene faded...he showed her some of his military training. One second he was shooting a strange pistol; smoke came out of the barrel after the six shots. His wasn't anything ridiculous, but he still was a 'new-age' soldier. He sent out a robot and control it with an interface on his wrist. Similar to an omnitool, but much less useful._

_The scene faded... He showed her Puerto Rico in his youth once, watching the beautiful waves sweep the sand back, everlastingly. A jet skier in the distance was having the time of their life, or so it sounded. There was a peaceful bliss in the viewer, especially turning around and seeing a grove of banana trees. Unfortunatey the scene ended with a closeup of a rather large tarantula, and him sprinting away in fear._

_The scene faded again... A conference meeting with many people. Near him was a female resembling Kasumi._

_"Tomorrow's the big day!" The female squeaked._

_"I know!" He said, and kissed her. "I'll miss Isa, but this'll be worth it."_

_"Who knows, if we find alien life, we'll be rich!" The female said._

_"Even if we don't, it's a lot of time with the girl I love." He stated happily._

_"I love you too." The woman replied smiling. They embraced..._

_The scene faded._

_"No, I can't leave you to suffer". He was screaming at a burnt lady... the face was the same as before._

_"Then stop it" The female said, pleaing._

_"What?", he said, stopping his breath._

_"The pain, please."_

_"What do you mean? Harumi please don't give up"_

_She didn't state a single word, but moved her barely functioning right arm and rested it on his pistol._

_"I can't do that!" he yelled bursting into a fresh set of tears._

_"Please, you need to get out of here", slowly she closed her eyes, a tear escaping her._

_Wiping the tear, he says, "I'd rather stay here, than run away only to die away from you."_

_"You have a chance still Aj, don't waste it." she replied weakly._

_"Harumi !", he could barely hide the anger from his voice, but tried to sit beside her, arm over her shoulder, and kissed her._

_"Aj, please." The woman said weakly._

_With that, she grabbed his pistol. With her last ounce of strength, she then brought it to her mouth._

_"You know I can't do it myself", she said._

_Without a word, he pushed down on her finger, unable to look at her face._

_After the shot, he looked back._

_She was no more. She was everywhere._

Samara cut off the mind-melding immediately, and opened her eyes. The human had also been cut off, and was staring expressionless at the stars.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to show that." He said emotionlessly.

"I was intrigued by the technology I witnessed. It was very... alien." She said calmly."But I can see now why you are so cautious with your new lover."

"What is the bonding she speaks of, the lifemate? That scream the male made after his woman died, Tali did the same thing when I was inches from death..." He ended weakly.

"She has chosen you as her lifemate. Once she reaches the third stage, I have forgotten the name, I recall they form an unbreakable bond with their partners. It makes them truly one soul in most of their activities."

Aj thought for a moment. _Combat... we're moving as one... Why didn't she tell me this? Unbreakable?... monogamous..._ "What happened to the male though? He ran into suicide."

"When their lifemates died, especially in a battle, the other is said to feel half their soul ripped out. It causes momentary insanity, and absolute anger at whatever killed or threatened their partner." She said in a softer tone than normal.

"That's a terrible situation... And, I'm scared honestly, if I try to ask for anything official, she'll reject me." He retorted sadly.

Samara looked at him with a confused expression. "She has already chosen you. She cannot, and will not, leave you, unless that is what you ask. She will do whatever she can to make you happy, even if she lost half of her soul. Knowing the differences in courting, I assume she must feel that way about the situation."

"WHAT? No..." He said shaking his head.

"I am not accusing you of anything, Aj. I am merely stating humans are known to have multiple partners throughout their lives. This is actually your second, at least." She said matter of factly.

Sighing, he sadly whispered. "I see...I have never thought of it that way. She seems to tense up when I joke about our relationship...But I truly want to be with her for the rest of my life."

After a second of silence, and before she could answer. "What was that ceremony you showed me?" He asked.

Samara smiled, and began to speak.

Tali scurried down to their private area, and began crying. She couldn't bear the events what had happened, and didn't want to worry Aj anymore.

After a few minutes, she pulled up her omnitool. She typed a few keys with her good hand, and waited for an answer. After another full minute of waiting, it was answered.

"Hello Tali, it is good to see you again." Shala'Raan answered.

"It's good to see you too." She whispered back.

"Are you okay?" The older quarian asked worrying about her aunt.

"I'm fine. Aj... he... he..nearly got shot in the face..." Tali said, barely holding a tear from her eye.

Shala was good at reading her niece's body language, and this was absolute misery. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine. It's just, I don't know what came over me. One second I saw him facing a shotgun, the next I stabbed the shooter in the chest. I also had a shotgun in my other hand, shooting at his face." She said without any pride.

"Keelah Tali!" She retorted, but then thought a moment. "I think I know what happened."

"I know..." She said weakly. "I chose him as my lifemate."

"What is the problem with having a lifemate Tali? Someone who loves you unconditionally, and shares your soul as you do his." Shala asked trying not to sound worried again.

The words perked her up for a second, but went back to her sad state. "He's human. You know his species can bond and rebond..." She said sadly.

"I read into their culture after our earlier conversation." Shala said a bit happily. "They do not rebond often, and most of the times, when a bond breaks, it was never true. Humans sometimes think they've bonded, and act like it, but truly havent. They can barely stand being around each other sometimes."

Tali began to softly sob at the new words. "So... so he doesn't..." She began to cry louder, but it was inaudible to the rest of the deck.

"NO TALI...Keelah...no." She said shaking her head.

"Then what?" She said stalling her distraught demeanor.

"Remember, his kind is not as social as our own. If he didn't love you, he would not have you by his side all the time, as I assume you do. " The statement earned a slight giggle even through her tears. "No, I do believe he has his own type of bond with you, I just think he does not know our ways." She ended.

"Thanks Shala..." Tali said weakly, but with a hint of happiness.

"I am ju-" But the admiral was interrupted.

"Tali?" Aj yelled down into engineering.

"I am here." She said even happier. Neither of them noticed Shala's smile widen at the quick emotional change. She jumped up, but he met her down by the bed.

"I came to ask you something." He said nervously...and had his hand scratching the back of his neck. He motioned for the cot, and they both sat.

Tali noticed he was nervous, and grabbed his free hand. "What's wrong love?" She had unknowingly left her omnitool on, as Shala still had a few last words for her.

Remembering Samara's words, he spoke to the young quarian, "Tali'Zorah vas Neema, the orange sun is warm, but my heart is cold. The clear water runs, but I stay behind. I have lived so far, but away from the true journey. My path is now clear, and the dust is gone in my voyage of life. My soul is incomplete without you, my inszel. Will you join with me on the path of life?"

Both Tali and Shala stood absolutely silent for a moment.

**Realk:** Cloth covering used by the quarians. It is used to describe not just the hood seen on most but any material adornment.


	32. The Fifth Wheel

_The words from the scrolls of the Ancestors... He, he sounded so meaningful, so...caring...so...quarian. I, am I dreaming? What's father going to say, the fleet? Keelah I... I... Oh I'm stalling, keelah.._ After a split second of stalling...

Tali, in a whisper, slowly retorted. "The sun will warm, as the water will bring, two journeys, meeting as one. You complete me, Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema. Let us join as one, two lives, in one soul."

The young quarian just stared for a moment, and lunged at him. Her slender arms wrapped around Aj, who was now smiling. She was wrenching with sobs again, but this time, for a much happier reason. The peaceful embrace was broken by a sniffle, but it came from her... forearm?

"Tali, your omnitool is still on." Aj whispered, caressing her back gently.

"Oh...Shala...I'm sorry...I forgot" She stammered quietly. The two were still embracing , but Tali held up her arm so Shala could clearly see the pair.

Aj was about to say something, but the admiral held up her hand. "No Tali, I'm sorry for intruding, but..." Her eyes focused on the human, "I have not heard those words in a long time...The old words of bonding."

"Please don't tell me I messed up." Aj said nervously, but Tali's rather powerful squeeze seemed to hint otherwise.

"No, you didn't." She replied smiling up at him.

"What I meant to say, Aj, is that we have changed the ceremony." She paused for a moment, and her eyes closed, but quickly returned. The voice what followed was a somber and hurt. "We do not have a sun, or running water, anymore. We do not even have...dust." Again she stopped, collecting herself and finished happily. "The words changed, but the meanings are the same."

"Where did you lear-" Tali stopped herself and smiled. _Keelah Samara! I can't believe she knew that... I need to speak with her soon...and thank her._

"Humor an old woman, Tali?" Shala asked

"Oh sorry Auntie, we have a justicar on our ship." She said exitedly, but mellowed dramatically. "She...she had visited Rannoch... before the war. I didn't know she knew so much about our ways."

He noticed the two quarians kept bringing up their homeworld. _Damn, I'll never be able to understand that kind of pain... But I'll do whatever I can to make her happy._ "Shala, you're not old. Her 'Uncle' is over a thousand!" He tried to change the subject.

The two ladies seemed to lighten up, and laughed rather loudly. "I see she told you about her team member on the first trip. But do not forget, I am her Aunt, and I have NOT bonded with a krogan." Again, Aj saw a side of one of the military leaders many hadn't, as she was giggling like Tali often did. _Is she positive they're not related?_

_"_You sure? She sure acts like one sometimes!" He quipped with a smirk.

His dry remark earned him a swat on the chest. "You bosh'tet!" Shala's smile did not abate.

"So, Shala, before she goes all bloodrage on me" She scowled at him, but quickly giggled, "How and what do I need for a bonding ceremony?"

She coolly responded. "When you return to the fleet, you may ask your captain for the ritual. I am sorry, but it cannot be done by a non-quarian."

"So, Admiral Gerrel?" He thought aloud._ Nothing against the man, but he seems a bit... business oriented. I wonder..._ "Can I ask you instead, with no disrespect towards him."

Tali tensed slightly, but when he looked at her, her eyes shone with a blissful smile -likely imagining the real fantasy. Shala looked surprised, but her eyes betrayed her simper. "You can, but as the captain, Admiral Gerrel would have to approve. I do not think he would argue, if that is truly what you want."

"I know it would make a certain someone very happy." He nudged Tali, who nodded her head in approval.

"I really hope you do it Shala." Tali whispered, still lost in the moments.

Noticing her voice, Shala responded. "I will see what I can do, and I won't spoil the surprise for anyone on the fleet, even your father. For now, I must attend to my duties, Fia is still a child sometimes. Be at peace, both of you, keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai Auntie." Tali retorted smiling and cutting the link.

Aj grabbed her good hand, and looked right at her eyes. "Thank you for waiting for me on this Tali. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He was rewarded with a small dextro female tackling him into the cot. He lay beside her, and had her helmet resting on his shoulder. "You don't know how much that means to me, Aj."

"Not just you, not anymore." He replied smiling looking down at her. "Us."

He heard her sniffle slightly, and saw a beaming smile returning his. "Yes us..." She reached her gloved hand up and gently felt his cheek down to his lips. "Damn this suit."

"That suit keeps you alive Tali, I'm thankful for that." Aj said happily.

"This thing has so many functions, but it can't let me leave it..." She said somberly.

"What functions does it have?" He asked curiously. Often he had wondered just what that thing could do, but now... Tali loved talk about anything technical.

"Internal temperature management, air filtration, and cleaning systems, nerve stimulators, and a monitor for nearly every bodily function. It's like a computer tailored to me in every way." She said in a little happier tone.

Aj thought he should have asked these a long time ago, but it just didn't feel right with Ken or Gabby nearby, and he'd need to know how she works if he's going to be with her for life. _If anything happens, I need to know what to do... Mordin could probaly teach me quarian anatomy. Might be a good heads up if..._ He blushed at the thought, and unfortunately Tali noticed.

Giggling, Tali asked "What are you blushing for? We're not even past the cer-" She stopped herself before spilling any more beans.

"What's after the ceremony?" He noticed her sudden pause, and now... yep, if you looked carefully, her cheeks got slightly darker past the visor. "Now you're blushing!"

"Keelah is my mask clearing!?" She squeaked nervously putting her hands on her mask. _Wait, it's Aj, I can't...leave the room unt-_

"Nope, relax, now you're being a bosh'tet!" He said laughing. The foreign derogatory term earned him a light punch in the chest. _Indeed quarian females are violent, note to Wrex. _In a fake offended tone, he crossed his arms added "But don't change the subject little quarian!"

Again she blushed furiously, but she responded failing at being coy, "It's a surprise."

"Man Tali, you're a hell of an engineer, but you're terrible at stealth." He said widening his smirk. "So, is it like a Puerto Rican wedding?"

"I don't know how those weddings are? What's Puerto Rico?" She asked.

Laughing, he answered "It's an island I was born at on Earth; and our weddings, well they're fun. They often involve a lot of alcohol, a beach, and more alcohol."

Only slightly dejectedly, she said "We don't have beaches." But she perked up a bit. "I don't think anyone would mind getting drunk, but we would have to buy it. Luxuries are not often kept on the fleet."

He honestly wanted to have a hell of a good time. _Shoulda kept the weed though. _Imagining a picture of a kumba-ya circle with Shala, Tali, Aj, Shepard, and... Grunt? That made him laugh again.

"That's twice now primate!" She said in mock exasperation.

"Just trying to imagine Admiral Raan showing up to a meeting shitface drunk." He replied lying but similarly imagining that and laughing.

Her worried tone only accentuated her accent. "Oh keelah no, that would be bad!"

"Shit. I don't have any money." Aj said with a frown thinking about the logistics.

"Yeah you do." She said. "Check your omnitool."

"Huh?" He thought for a moment, and his forearm tingled, but he felt a sensation. The feeling was difficult to describe, but was similar to a dream. _Check credit balance: Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema._

_User name not required for personal omnitool. Balance total: 30,000 credits. _'Holy shit' he thought after disconnecting.

Tali saw him close his eyes, and a split second later, opened. A stray spark even came up from his forearm in her peripheals.

"30,000!?" He said, causing Tali to jump.

"Keelah, you're getting fast at that." She said exasperatedly. "But yes, that's about right. I have 29,650."

"Huh, so what'd you buy?" He perused.

Surprised by the question, Tali blushed again, "Nothing important." She lied.

"Oh? You want to play that game." He said mockingly and smirked. He closed his eyes, and focused. _Okay, so let's see if I can partially interface from a distance._ Thinking repeatedly to link to Tali's. It didn't take long, his head surged a little in pain. Organic minds are supercomputers, and plausibly, subconciously can be used for complex algorithms.

Tali saw him close his eyes, and a spark reappeared. Her omnitool blinked, and she noticed an unauthorized connection was...accessing data. Her encryption keys were state of the art, and then some quarian genius, but he broke them. She frantically typed into her tool, but one thing stood out. The only file accessed...

He felt a clearness, and assumed he was connected. _Search purchase history._

_Purchase history:_

35 credits| Anti-Inflammatory Medication (Dextro) - Cialto Pharmaceuticals

85 credits| Immuno-Boosters (Dextro) - Cialto Pharmaceuticals

125 credits| Nerve-Stim Pro (Deluxe Edition)

75 credits| Nerve-Stim Program (Beta Human edition)

30 credits| E-Fornax _Human/Asari Special!_

He disconnected after reading her private report, and his grin stopped for a moment. _Nerve stim...human ed...Forn- _His grin reemerged with a slight blush.

Aj opened his eyes after about five seconds, and Tali looked right at his face...and..._oh keelah no..._Tali's final hope, it was indecipherable information, was shot and burned on the spot.

"Um...I uh told you, see? Nothing important!" She stammered with a smile.

"Oh really now." He said overexaggeratedly. Tali blushed rampantly, but it fizzled as she broke eye contact. Aj quickly grabbed her hand so she couldn't wring her fingers.

Oh she definitely noticed her gesture wouldn't be possible. Oddly, she only noticed when it wasn't happening. She replied softly, and almost if scared, "I wanted to see if it would work, so I asked Mordin." Looking back up at him she kept her soft, clear voice. "He said it was if we're careful." She broke eye contact and looked at his hand, letting out a piece of her very heart for him. Her previous withdrawn attitude resurfaced to dampen the likely blow, "But I don't know what you want, you said it yourself, when you were alive, 'al..aliens' didn't exist. I don't know what you'd think of me..." She ended again nearly in tears. Her military training had never prepared her for any romantic encounters, especially this predicament. This was her first, and only, actual lover.

He squeezed her hand gently, which caused her too look up, hoping for an answer. "You're not an alien to me anymore Tali." He said sternly, but warmly. "I love you, and I think you're beautiful. We can try soon if we're careful, but only if you'll be safe. You don't need to have any doubts... not anymore." He ended happier.

_We can try? Soon? Oh keelah I didn't exp...what do I...were can we...how... _A thousand thoughts raced in her head. "I don't doubt you Aj..." Pausing, she squeezed his hand gently in return. She truly began to clear her own mind. _He wants to bond with me keelah... why am I still so nervous..._ After a very brief pause, the quarian whispered. "I love you too."

Chuckling one last time, he said. "Let's take a nap before we continue this conversation Tali. I'm exausted from Tuchanka still, and we've both got a lot to think about."

In a barely sultry tone she added, "Yes...mm...a lot to think about." Her quiet tone also hinted she agreed on the sleep. Aj laid down tugging her hand, and she quickly followed. To many, seeing a large male with such a slender female was rather humerous. Aj closed his eyes and concentrated on what worked with EDI.

_EDI, please tell Mordin me and Tali will be up sometime today needing advice on... how to physically pursue our relationship. Also, keep what happened down here a secret, I don't want the crew to know just yet._

_Understood, Aj._ He swore he heard a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Noticing Tali was nearly asleep, he decided it was the perfect time to revert to his old self. "So, are you going to make me audition for the human edition regular edition?"

A three fingered swat connected to his chest, but it still wasn't very hard. Although, it was enough for a slight sting. Apparently, that was all he was going to get for an answer, as her silver dots slowly disappeared behind the visor.

"Sleep well, lifemate." He whispered. The young quarian then pulled herself closer and rested her head on his shoulder. Before he fell asleep, he looked at the crate nearby which he used as a desk. The photo of his family stood there, a silent reminder of what he'd lost. Looking at the woman in front of him, his thoughts switched only what he'd gained, and to never forget those lost. She would not be included in the later.

About twenty minutes after the two had their talk, Shepard was about to leave the med bay.

"Your burns are fine now. A quick skin and muscle replacement biopsy did the trick since Mordin's reverse engineered antidote worked perfectly." Dr. Chakwas said with a smile.

"Thanks doc, I'm glad it wasn't too serious."

"Oh it was serious alright." She said imperitavely, but then switched to a more motherly tone. "Next time you see a thresher maw, I expect you to get the hell away from it, not run right at it."

"Yes ma'am" Shepard responded smirking slightly.

She rolled her eyes, but mentioned in a low voice. "Garrus was worried about you, if you have time, I'd go check up on him."

Eagerly, he responded, "Sounds like a plan, am I free to go?"

"Yes, yes, just be careful on that arm. It'll take a while to get the new muscles used to your lunacy." She ended with a smirk of her own.

"Gee thanks 'mom' " he said sarcastically. He started stretching his new grafted section and smiled. "Great job by the way."

"I've had to patch you up so many times John, I practically know where every artery is now." She said actually seriously, but in a mocking tone. Back to a more serious but relaxed tone, "With Mordin here, it's just that much better. He's incredible at his job."

"I bet, I'll look for another bottle of brandy for this one though." He added grinning. It was a strange combination, a doctor, somewhat of a mother -his family had never made it off Mindoir- and a brandy-and-cheese kind of relaxationer. One of the few things he was honestly grateful for of Cerberus was getting her onboard.

He skirted out of the room nearly trampling crewman Hawthorne. "Easy fella, no fires in here." The man joked.

"Hell, you never know in this ship, might be someone's prank." The captain retorted waving him off. Protocol was never really an issue on his ship. His crew members followed him willingly without the need.

He headed to the forward batteries, likely were the illusive avian brother of his resided. As soon as the bulkhead opened he saw the turian seated on a crate, facing away from him...

"Yeah, we killed one. For some reason though, I'm not even surprised." Garrus remarked.

"Oh you're always a downer, it's amazing! A thresher on foot, and not a single death. I hope he's okay though..." A female voice squeaked out of his omnitool. "Hey there he is!"

Garrus nearly jumped out of his scales when she said that. His first sight was said commander grinning at him.

His look left no room for stealth, so in resignation he stated "Hey Shepard, was just chatting with Dr. Michel, glad to see you're okay."

Replacing the smirk with a smile "Thanks Garrus, and a pleasure to see you doctor; we'll get to the Citadel sometime soon."

"Wonderful !" The Russian surgeon exclaimed happily. "Garrus said his other friend's dating a human too, do they want to come too?"

Garrus half sarcastically mentioned "We're headed to the Relata Hixut lounge, more of a high-class bar, but there's still alcohol. Elcor run place serves dextro and levo food."

"Still, that quarian,Tali'Zorah?..., I patched up all those years ago, the hero of the Citadel. It'd be nice to see her again!" Chloe Michel pipped in.

_"_Hah, I'll ask Aj later. So, what'd you need Shepard, going to try to invade Khar'Shan today or just the usual?" Garrus added with a smirk.

"One of these days maybe, but not today sadly." He said with a chuckle. "Just checking up, I swear this gun is perfectly calibrated, there's just no damn way." He shook his head.

With a dismissive talon, he proudly divulged, "Our thrusters and engines are recalibrated on a routine basis, in turn, I have to compensate for it or this little girl might overheat or be less than perfect strength."

Snorting and crossing his arms, he finished, "Well, I'm glad you're okay, and thanks for coming down to Tuchanka. Hell, even listening to Miranda deserves a medal sometimes."

"No problem, always something new to fight, pretty fun." He said nonchalantly. "Besides, you need to thank a certain justicar for saving your ass."

"I guess you're right." He waved off the turian, who began to smirk ever so slightly.

As he walked out, he heard a few last tidbits of their conversation _'So, you're inviting her?' 'No' 'Why not?' 'Life or death choice...'_

He walked around, and intentionally pulled off a spin move on Hawthorne. He was beginning to enjoy this crew, even the Cerberus people. When he got to the Port Observation Deck, Samara was meditating.

"Hello Samara" The commander said warmly.

She patted the area beside her, much like with Aj. The commander also nervously sat down by the ancient warrior.

EDI had observed both situations, and had made a strange connection. The asari justicar was playing a similar role to the Native American shaman in the tribes. She decided to inform the justicar of her special situation.

She looked at his arm, then back up with a miniscule smile. "It is good to see you are okay. It should not happen again, however."

Quietly, he said. "Well, I wanted to thank you. I don't know what came over me, but it was overwhelming."

Her expression went back to its stoic self. "I fear there will be worse to come on this. Steel your nerves, even more of those beasts may appear."

Shaking his head, he said "Yeah, I'm going to try I guess." When he began to get up, she used her biotics to keep him down.

"Come and meditate, it will clear your mind, enter a peace free of the battle."

He cracked his wrists, took the traditional Buddhist meditating position. He focused deeply, and began to glow blue, a lighter blue than the asari nearby. _Relax, don't think of batarians or Mindoir, or...Akuze. Damnit... Okay, damnit, I don't have many peaceful moments. Even Mindoir was a fucking hellhole. Alright, uh...Amaranthine, a beautiful purple planet, the stars clear, such a relaxing drive actually. Tali and Garrus, by my side. That one lady, huh, glad I got her to give up. There's a peace, I guess, from being with my friends...my squad. I've got to protect them, no matter what...but for now, I want to forget about the Reapers...Touching down was a slow desc-_

_He continued in his mind all the way to get the older female to resign as a gang leader._

He snapped out of his mental lapse, and noticed Samara still had a calm expression, staring at nothing. The omnitool showed they had only been like this for one hour, and he was in orbit around Tuchanka still. His quick breathing likely caused her to notice.

Samara said softly. "You seem more relaxed already."

Shepard smiled and got up, stretching his back, "I do, maybe I'll start doing that more often. Beats the hell out of reading."

She closed her eyes and began to glow again, then added "Very well, it does improve your strength in combat as well."

He nodded, and left the room remarkably refreshed. Before he could reach the kitchen, EDI's blue interface popped up and softly interjected, "Commander, Miranda seems distressed, and kept hesitating prior to initiating a call to your omnitool. I believe it has something to do with a recent anonymous email received recently."

He noticed she hadn't hinted at the contents, and asked. "What'd it say?"

Remarkably, the synthetic answered, "I do not reveal personal information unless the individual allows it. I apologize, commander."

Almost every other time, he'd start yelling at the damn machine. However, he actually... smiled. "That's understandable EDI, I'll go see now."

"Logging you out commander."

He walked over to Rupert and nodded, continuing past to the fridge. Snagging an asari wine cooler, he walked over to Miranda's office.

Miranda was checking out the email one last time for any information about the sender, but it was to no avail. She was seriously considering asking Kasumi or...Tali... for assistance. She was still at odds about the strange relationship, but was starting to accept it. "Commander, is there anything you require?" Her voice betrayed her inner turmoil. Her eyebrow quirked as she noticed the wine.

He gingerly set it down on her desk, and pulled out two cups. In an unexpectedly soft voice, he began. "Now, what's the problem? Drink a few cups of wine if it helps, but you know we have time to assist especially right now."

Miranda's face got pale for a second, but she reached for a glass. _Damnit, _She thought to herself, _How the hell does he always do this. _But her wording betrayed the opinion. The ice queen herself smiled as she poured the first cup.


	33. Secrets Are Overrated

_Note to all readers: College = slower chapters. I apologize, but no choice :( _

She took a drink of her lightly alcoholic beverage. She must haveen nervous, because most of it was gone before she began to speak. Cautiously, she asked, "What did you find out?"

"Nothing yet, just trying to find out myself. You seemed distracted." The commander took a few gulps of his. _Got to love the magical effects of alcohol, I have to admit._

Miranda's face became slightly worried, "Just can't keep anyone off the grid nowadays..." She slammed down her first cup. Shepard courteously poured her another.

Shepard asked, "So whats up, anyone in danger?"

She lowered her head if only a millimeter, and in a quiet voice answered, "My sister, she's supposed to live at a secret location. It may be compromised. My contact said she could meet me on Illium, Nos Astra." Both took a few sips before continuing.

"Ok, EDI ch-"

"Course plotted, commander, eta" A miniscule pause...

And Joker's voice finished, "whenever the hell I want. Why ask me? Why don't you tell him oh mighty synthetic superbrain?"

Shepard grinned at the holopad. _EDI's got to find messing with him funny._ He responded "Thanks pal, you know, EDI might be able to block some of those more... interesting search queries." Miranda frowned quickly at the obviously aimed statement.

Sarcastically, the pilot added "Fine, now she's going to do this again I just know it. Eta 6 hours."

Miranda allowed herself a brief smile and finished her second cup, but the worry came back quickly. Denying a refill, she said, "I can't let her be in any danger." Her voice was softer than Shepard had ever heard from her.

The two broke eye contact in the momentary silence. She frowned looking back at her terminal. "Its the bloody Eclipse!" The normally expressionless woman allowed a slammed fist to the desk.

The commander noticed the gesture. _Oh shit, this isn't any recon and rescue bull, this is serious. _In a more commanding tone, he asked, "Do we need to expect heavy resistance?"

She replied professionaly. "Its very likely, but my contact has the details."

The commander paused, scratching his chin. _Hmm, Eclipse, so we'll need biotics, and a tech, so..._

Miranda noticed his delay, but mistook the meaning. Dejectedly, she added, "I'm sorry, but even I don't have that information yet."

Shepard snapped out of his thoughts and smirked. "No Miranda, I'm just thinking of a squad" She smiled ever so slightly, and he continued, "Since it's Illium I'll take you, Samara, Kasumi, and Garrus."

Her smile grew, and she sounded very relieved. "Not that you need it, but I approve. We should be very well suited against their talents."

_Damn, she's never acted like this before. This shouldn't be too difficult, I guess._ He nodded and began heading for the exit. Before he got out though...

Miranda added at an almost inaudible whisper, "Thank you Shepard..."

Shepard stopped in his tracks, halfway out of the door. Turning around, he couldn't help but smile. _It's nice to see she's still a human down there. Perfectly engineered, but still just as emotionally unstable as the rest of us, but...her body is... wait? No._ In a relaxed voice, he stated, "It's no problem Miranda, we'll make sure she's safe."

He left the room glad to have some sort of objective. _Save the damsel in distress, what is this, the hundredth time now? Might need to write a few stories on this._ He grinned and shook his head, and decided to visit downstairs with the...stranger... squad members. Entering the elevator, he thought about his odd allies. _Luckily I knew a certain quarian downstairs. Grunt, hell he's probaly my new biggest fan. _He chuckled. _Literally.._.

He exited and headed straight right. This was the lair of a certain mercenary. The bulkhead opened, and Zaeed looked up from cleaning his old, broken rifle. "Ay, whatcha need Shepard?"

He just took a seat at a crate and remarked "Just doing my rounds." After pausing a moment, he added, "What'd you think of Miranda's mission? Report says we stopped the research and kept the intel."

Grinning with half his face, the natural side, he responded. "Yeah, that's about right. Hell of a fight, damn Blood Pack never give up. The quarian girl can pack a punch once you piss 'er off."

Shepard chuckled slightly. "That she does, those shotgun threats aren't just for show."

He sarcastically retorted. "Yeah, got me here with a giant fuckin' robot, a crazy krogan, and a crazier quarian. Guddamn freak ship I tell ya."

The commander laughed and pointed upstairs. "Keeps you out of the bar and on your toes for a while. Can't spar a krogan hammered to shit."

Zaeed just grumbled slightly and waved him off, "Gotta be right in the head when I'm takin care of Jessie too."

"You should fix it someday, take it out on a mission." Shepard suggested.

He scowled, "Tried, even hired some damn experts, none of the bastards got her firin' again"

Shepard frowned, but immediately found an option. "Ask Tali, shes one of the best out there, if not the best." He truly meant that, not as hyperbole.

Zaeed shrugged his shoulders. "Why the hell not, worth a shot."

The commander smirked in response "Well good luck with that, whatever you use, I'm still a better shot."

The aged mercenary scoffed, "We'll see about that rookie."

He left the area and decided to check on Tali and Aj. Apparently he was still the only one to know. Aj's request had come after the fact. He wanted to surprise them...and...well... scaring the shit out of Tali had been a popular past time since early on the SR-1. Shepard, Wrex, Garrus, and even engineer Adams got a kick from her 'energetic' terror moments. Garrus always seemed to get the worst rep though.

Descending the stairs, he stumbled upon a blissful scene. Tali was on Aj's right side, using him as a pillow. Aj looked rather deeply asleep, but Tali was awake. She was tinkering around with her omitool, what looked like upgrading security interfaces.

Shepard smiled and whispered, "Why hello there Tali"

The quarian jostled slightly, eyes widened and meeting his. She gently left her human comforter and excitedly said, "Oh hey Shepard! What can I do for you?"

Chuckling, Shepard exclaimed, "Still pretty worked up I see, let me be the first to say congratulations."

_Oh...keelah..I uh..._Tali's fingers began to wring rather quickly, but she attempted to hide her fear. "For what?" She lied.

Shepard snorted a little, but his smile grew. "I'm the only one who knows. EDI said she'll keep it secret from everyone else. She told me ASAP , after the secrecy request"

She relaxed a little, but her fingers still were dancing, even the injured one sluggishly attempted to ballet. She quietly squeaked, "Thanks, I'm really happy about it. I'm a little scared what the fleet will think. Especially the Admiralty board..."

He smiled and crossed his arms, "He's a part of the fleet, and besides, you've got Chiktikka."

Tali giggled quietly and remarked, "Even she won't save him from father, keelah no."

Shepard laughed at the poor girl's fears, "Well, whatever makes you happy is all what matters. Don't let the old man keep that from you."

Her eyes widened, and her head slightly turned. "My father is not that old, even for a quarian!"

Shaking his head at the young woman, the commander clarified. "Just an old saying, I'm happy you've actually found someone who cares about you." His slight amount of admiration, if only a small amount, was easily picked up on by the quarian.

She quietly said. "I'm sorry about Ash still, but remember, you're THE Shepard. One of the most wanted men in the galaxy! I bet there are plenty of asari and human females drooling over you." After a brief pause, she shyly added, "Even a few quarian females were... very envious of my time onboard the Normandy for reasons other than the ship..."

If he would have had water in his mouth, it would be splattered on the poor girl's visor in surprise laughter. A grumble came from the bed as the rather large human woke up. "You should definitely visit the fleet, as long as you don't mind physical abuse, sharp teeth, painful kic-" His revelations were ended by a glare from a female of said species.

Shepard laughed again, louder than before. "Yeah, Tali I'll go hook up with a quarian girl if I visit the fleet. Seems I'll need heavy shields if you're a good indicator. Sharp teeth you say?" He was rewarded by a howl of laughter, but it was not from a dextro. Aj definitely enjoyed it, but Tali was blushing, and slightly agitated.

Tali sighed, "Yes we have teeth, like yours, but sharper, keelah." The woman took a few steps back to the cot and pointed a finger at Aj. "I hope you" she poked his chest, "are ready to run the core diagnostics today, not just laze around with Ken making fun of the women!"

Aj looked at her with a disapproving childlike pout, then looked at Shepard grinning. "Shields aren't enough, you need ear muffs sometimes with these lovely ladies."

Both of the two looked at him strangely. Shepard questioned, "What the hell is that?"

"Ea-her muhffs?" Tali said awkwardly. After a brief moment of searching the definition, she asked, "Why would his ears be cold?"

EDI interjected. "That piece of clothing has been replaced by modern protectants."

Aj flatly replied. "They kept them warm, and also block out most sound from the outside." He ended with a smirk.

Shepard's confused look eventually let out a chuckle, while Tali still looked perplexed. "How would they communicate though?" She asked worridly.

Aj's grin grew slightly wider, as did Shepard's. "That's the goal Tali." Aj answered.

Tali stared at him for a moment... then slapped his stomach rather hard causing him to flinch. "Now I know why you're still a primate!" Her mock anger was not very convincing.

Shepard laughed at the antics, and replied. "Have fun dealing with a pissed off quarian woman, Aj." Tali giggled slightly at the remark, while Aj just groaned in disapproval. "Tali, just keep him alive please, I'll let you two be."

The young lady happily retorted, "No promises, Shepard!"

Shepard strode out of the room, again spirits uplifted by the boisterous couple downstairs. _Huh, wonder if Garrus will try to bring his girl onboard now. Can't say we couldn't use another doctor. _He winced slightly rethinking the moment when his poor spleen unfortunately was punctured by a three round burst.

He was unsure where to go, so he went up to the crew bay to grab some dinner. Glancing at the tray, he was rather disappointed. Although the new rations had helped tremendously in the cuisine, Rupert still forced him to eat freaking brocolli with his steak. _Damn vegetable should have been burnt and wasted long ago. _As he sat down to enjoy most of his meal, he rethought about Illium. _Damn, asari version of Noveria, and I doubt it'll be as safe. No way in hell am I bringing Garrus though, he'll never shut up about the women. I don't understand the galaxy's obsession with the blue ladies._

As if on cue, an ancient blue female casually strode into the room. Oddly, the couple he had visited earlier quickly strode past her -nearly through her-, smiling at him and her before disappearing into the med bay. He couldn't help but notice how different she appeared from the couple before, much more serene and...developed.

Samara glided past the commander, and grabbed a tray of the same food as him. She sat across from him, and began frowning at the unpleasant vegetable.

Shepard chuckled slightly, and informed, "It's brocolli, Samara. Not the best tasting, but very healthy."

She looked up as if surprised by the sudden interjection, but looked back down. "So I have been told. I doubt it is very tasteful, unfortunately, but that is not a problem."

He grabbed one of the disgusting green stalks, and began to munch on it. Lying through his teeth, he totted in fake excitement, "It's almost edible!"

The asari stabbed one of her own, and took a small bite, grimacing immediately. "That is an understatement. I believe I may have to forfeit the benefits of this item. I prefered my own cuisine over this repulsive greenery."

_Your own? _The commander gave her a strange look, which she returned. He asked, "You cook?" He gnawed on his beef, avoiding the vegetable.

Shepard believed today might be the day Garrus finally admitted he was a better shot, or perhaps Grunt became a pacifist. In front of him, an asari justicar blushed fiercely. It lasted only a moment, before she looked down in what seemed like slight shame.

In a low voice, Samara replied, "Long ago, before I became a justicar, I cooked for my family and neighbors." She took a bite of her steak likely to avoid perusal.

Noticing her slight shame, or displeasure, or both, the commander was slightly stumped. After chewing and swallowing his own hunk of flesh, he commented, "There's no shame in culinary arts; it's an important job."

Samara shook her head, but seemed to faintly smile. "I gave up that life when I found out of my daughter's true fate."

The last thing he wanted to do was bring up her daughters any more than necessary, so Shepard diverted, "So you haven't cooked in over four centuries?"

The woman in front of him quirked an eyebrow at that, but again shook her head. "I had to during my travels, the life of a justicar does not merit a substantial wage." She paused, as if to find the correct phrasing, "I have not cooked using proper ingredients in that time, though." She sounded slightly dejected, but kept her stoic demeanor. She stared at the steak for a moment, before taking another bite.

Shepard grinned, and suggested, "Well you're welcome to try what you like. I don't think Rupert would mind."

She looked at the kitchen, and calmly replied, "I cannot utilize your human ingredients for most of my dishes. I learned from a matriarch, the cuisine was of an old time even among her peers."

The steak just didn't seem as good anymore after hearing her techniques. _So, ancient asari cooking? Beats the hell out of this everyday, sorry Rupert. Hmm... Aha! _He calmly informed, "EDI announced that we're headed to Illium, you know..."

Samara glanced at him, and again at her steak. "I... I do not know if I sti-" She was interrupted by a laughing commander, causing her to frown slightly. Cooking was an art to the asari, not to be thought of as a 'fast food' society.

Shepard noticed her look, and quickly stopped, holding up his hand for a moment. "Sorry to be rude, but I never thought I'd see you nervous. But, I highly doubt you lost any of your skill" He paused for a moment to clarify his opinion, "It seems you haven't lost anything else in your old age." _Fuck, that sounds bad, and yet I managed an insult along with tossing out that kind of shit._

Samara did not say a word, but looked down at her food. When she did finally speak, it was an attempt at emotionless, but a hint of sadness barely crept in. "I would not want your crew to be discouraged by my cooking. I do not know if it would suit a human pallet."

Shepard paused for a moment. _Shit, Aj said he survived a turian ale, right?_ "I don't think asari taste buds are much different than humans. I'd be honored to try it, if you really would cook. The crew doesn't need to if you're not comfortable enough yet.

Samara was a lady not used to any sort of condolence or assurance, but this human ship was definitely a learning experience, in many different ways. "Very well, I would... enjoy... to revisit a pleasant part of my past."

He smiled at the woman, "Never forget your past, but do not let the worst parts cloud the joy."_ Wait, preaching to an asari almost a thou-_

Samara for the first time in the conversation, had a real smile on her countenance. "Thank you commander. The life of a justicar often causes one to lose much of their past joy, but..." She looked at his eyes with a strange new look, her eyes seemed to pierce him through and through. "I cannot let my children be all I have from my past. If anything can bring back some of the happiness, even for a moment, and it does not hinder my objective, I see no reason not to."

Slightly sighing in relief over a possible battle of the wits, he stated, "We humans don't have your kind of time, but there's one thing many of us have learned." He noticed her questioning look, and continued. "Every one of us deserves a second chance."

Samara kept her smile, but before any more conversation could be held, the dinner rush began to swoop in. She relinquished the facial expression, and quietly excused herself from the table. Shepard could not help but stare at the woman. _She's an incredible warrior, but she's ashamed of her cooking... or that she used to be a regular person? I'll never understand her._

He got up soon thereafter, and began to walk to his quarters for a pre-Illium nap, but a sudden thought smacked him in the face. _Did I just ask her for a private dinner date?_

As the commander had left their private area, Aj began to laugh rather hard. _Imagine if I tried to make another suit remark to Admiral Zorah again, hah! Great way to test my armor suit's air seals..._

Tali looked at him puzzled, "What's so funny bosh'tet?"

He calmed himself and replied, "Just wondering if your father will try to kill me, even with Shala's reassurances...well." Aj paused, but grinned, "I've already got to deal with one angry quarian with a shotgun." He closed the short distance between them.

She cocked her hands on her hips as if disapproving, but he gently put his hand on the side of her visor. "But she's much more important to me than anyone else."

_Keelah, first he's an idiot, and now..._His touch nearly made her knees give out on the spot, but her voice betrayed her true feeling. In a terrible attempt at fake anger, she quipped, "So, you think you're getting off that easy?"

Aj's grin grew slightly, and he gently grabbed her good hand. "Then what oh so gruesome punishment do you have for me? Another turian ale?" He ended with a slight snort._ I highly doubt any secrets would last past that endeavor, actually... damn Kelly the scuttlebutt master..._

She smiled warmly - Aj could tell by her eyes - and elaborated, "Nope, not here. Follow me." She pulled at his hands, nearly jogging to the elevator.

Once they entered, Aj said. "So wh-" But a long slender finger abruptly ended his perusal. Tali's eyes were practically glowing out of the visor. Whatever she was thinking she seemed rather excited. Her finger left in front of his mouth and relocated to the elevator controls, where she pushed the button for deck three.

Shaking her head, she overode his request. She half mock anger, half joked, "I told you not here! If you already have ear muffs..." She typed into her omnitool, and a loud pang was heard. He flinched rather noticeably, to which she smiled at and giggled. It was definitely a strange relationship, even without the biology barrier.

When they exited, the couple quickly strolled to the med bay, nodding at any crew members who aknowledged them. Samara nearly was trampled by miss Zorah, but they smiled at each other and continued. They even saw Shepard walking to the table, carrying a plate of food. Most of the crew seemed to like the duo, most only complained they had a difficult time telling their personalities apart. When they entered, doctor Chakwas was casually checking over some read outs.

Tali noticed and smiled, releasing her human 'captive'. Her tone was extremely nervous, but seemed a lot more... determined, than usual. "Dr. Chakwas... I...uh..have some questions."

Aj picked up on the demeanor, and immediately began chuckling, gaining an eyebrow and... you guessed it... a three fingered swat on the shoulder. Casually, he stated, "Tali relax, Mordin's already got the memo."

The 'not-so-innocent' quarian began to play with her fingers, and this time the doctor chuckled. She didn't know why they came up, but now it was painfully obvious. "Oh good heavens Tali, you've killed a giant plant, a Reaper, and this is scaring you? Believe me, you're not the first person asking for help with interspecies sexual relations. The first quarian, though!" _Oh Garrus, Garrus, Garrus, if he doesn't understand that human women do not enjoy sharp claws dug into their backs... well most._

Tali did not want to speak for some reason, only gently nodding her head. Aj and the doctor noticed she actually seemed geniunely scared. Aj decided to interject. "Thanks doc, I've got to speak to Tali though, if you don't mind."

Unfortunately, someone else had other ideas. Before the other doctor could skirt out, a salarian popped in.

"Excellent, already begun. Please, Tali'Zorah, Antonio'Sanchez, have a seat, medical matters to discuss." Dr. Solus seemed too eager for this kind of discussion.


	34. Pesky Professionals

Mordin was a brilliant scientist, but he either did not know, or likely did not care, about easing into a subject. "Have compiled data on a human/quarian sexual encounter, promising results!"

Dr. Chakwas took a nearby seat, and had a slightly infuriating grin on her face. _Tali, I remember when you were scared to even talk to a human, and now... full circle indeed._

Tali's fingers were quickly dancing again, while Aj awkwardly asked, "So, like on bacteria and medicine and such?"

The doctor looked at him with a slightly amused look, then began typing into his omnitool. "There is more than tangible data." He looked up with a slight grin, causing the couple to both become nervous. The duo had forgotten the first rule with Mordin, always expect extra information.

Dr. Solus continued, "Emotional patterns and behavior mechanisms in the human and quarian physiology very similar. Will need to be cautious around other females, Aj. Quarian protective instinct can be... problematic." He paused for a moment, and grinned at the two anxious individuals, "Fortunately, likely to be a successful pairing."

Both seemed rather relieved, but now it was time for... business. _Oh keelah another problem, protective... I don't think... oh, the krogan... _She glanced at her mending finger, which was proof of the salarian's accuracy, but around other females?

Aj decided to take the first punch, "So, how can she be safe, if we..." He trailed off, feeling his face heat up slightly. _Shit, always hated talking to the doctor, but about this? Damn..._

Luckily, Dr. Chakwas spoke up from across the room. "Do you recall what you said about your previous physical interaction? That Tali didn't seem to get really sick?"

The said quarian was furiously blushing. Even a kiss was still big deal, extremely so in quarian culture. _Only lifemates have that ability...on the fleet. _She thought to herself.

Aj grabbed her good hand, either as an anchor or an escape route, but it seemed to calm both of them down. "Yeah, we kissed, and she only seemed slightly ill."

Mordin seemed to become slightly excited, and began explaining, "Normal human oral microfauna and flora approximately 10^9 viable cells per ml of saliva."

Aj nodded in understanding, while Tali became slightly worried. _That's a lot...keelah... Oh no, stupid... immune deficiency, but... wait, normal? So what is Aj's...?_

As if reading her mind, Mordin continued with an obvious excitement, "Aj's cell count much less, estimates around 1,000. Difference of six magnitutes, absolutely unheard of!"

Tali paused soaking up the information, technology was her specialty, not biology. Aj though, was a bit more well-versed, and delved into it. "So, two things. A. That bacteria aids in digestion, so I doubt that's healthy, and B. Uh... how?"

Mordin punched into his omnitool a few times, scanning the human as well. He looked up and began, "Stomach has compensated, acidity slightly reduced, bacterial growth increased. Shouldn't cause problems. As for the reasoning..." The salarian took a brief pause, a rarity for him, "Neither of us are fully sure. I believe your metal underlay has raised the ionic charge around your external orifices, particularly the mouth. These bacterium are highly specialized, coevolved to survive specific habitat, human oral cavity. All seminal, integumentary, and fecal excretions will have same results. Stomach and inner intestines safe, more adaptable colonies."

Tali was slightly lost, but had picked up the gist. Aj, however, was listening rapt with attention. Microbiology was definitely an interesting science. He casually responded, "So, am-" He was stopped by Mordin's hand raise.

"Not done" He interrupted, and continued, "last part likely most benefitial for relationship. Superficial skin covering is remarkably sterile. Around 8000% less than normal, again reasoning suggests metal underlay ionic properties prevent bacterial colonization on natural keratin overlay." The doctor switched his attention towards the very quiet, and unseenly blushing, woman beside Aj. "Aj as close to sterile as humans can be."

Tali perked up at the last comment, and eagerly stated, "So, he's uh... safe for...?" Her continuing avoidance of the subject caused Aj to chuckle lightly. She did not appreciate it at all, "Stop that! Keelah..."

He continued for a few more moments, but ended smirking and saying, "Just you're cute when you're all bumbling and nervous and stuff."

Dr. Chakwas nodded and smiled in agreement, causing the woman to release his hand and wring both of her own. _This is really happening... what will Sha- _She stopped the thought when she felt hands around her own. Looking up at Aj, she lost her worry. _I...I don't care what they think..._

Aj stopped laughing, a thought smacked him nearly off his feet. _So...we really are...an alien? I mean I love her, but shou-_ He noticed she was trembling slightly and squirming her long digits. _She's even more nervous than I am..._ _If this is what she really wants, she deserves for us to at least try._ He turned to her and quickly grabbed both of her hands, then pulled her into a loving embrace.

_Young love, so beautiful..._Dr. Chakwas thought from the chair. She smiled lightly as she continued, _Never going to put this on a resume... 'helped a quarian physically join with a human'..maybe I should?._

Mordin interjected before Aj could console her further, "Successful pairing very likely!" His remark caused the pair to hastily separate. "As for the physical joining as miss Zorah questioned" Whether he specified her truthfully or to continue to add to her discomfort was an unknown. Her nervousness returned, but only an inkling of what it had been before. "Should not cause any serious infections. Recommend safety precautions."

_That bosh'tet of a doctor! We're both asking, right? _Aj noticed her tense up and put his arm around Tali's shoulders, pulling her in close. She was more than happy to comply, and rested her head gently against his shoulder.

_Time for the most fun part... damn. _Aj wearily asked, "So this is the part where I ask what we need to do, right?"

Dr. Chakwas got up, and smiled at the triage. "I'll let you do the rest Mordin, you've got it covered." She walked out of the room with a small grin.

Mordin nodded in approval, "Yes, but no questions yet. First, necessities." He went over to the cabinets and acquired two small boxes, both about the size of a women's shoebox.. He handed one to Aj and another to Tali.

As they began to open said boxes, Mordin elaborated, "For Aj, box contains antiseptic wash, dextro protein ingestion tablets, and hypo allergenic lubricant."

Aj began to chuckle slightly, which caused both the other two to look at him oddly. He noticed the looks, and squirmed slightly. "Uh, well thanks for the thought, but why lubricant?" _Actually, why am I complaining. Does he... keep a supply of that stuff? Creepy._

Tali was blushing furiously, there was no doubt what the lubricant was meant to be used for, but why was a curiosity. She was extremely thankful her visor was thoroughly tinted.

The doctor motioned at Tali, "Quarian epidermal tissue 'rougher' than humans. Internal vaginal lining has a similar consistency. Likely natural fluids produced will not suffice for a human penis during prolonged penetration. Can cause abrasions, bleeding, ra-"

Aj had been rendered speechless, but did not want to hear that list, he yelled, "Okay, okay I get it." _Fucking abrasions down there... I'll use the lubricant, damn. Why does he always go into so much detail...geez. _Three digits found their way around his.

Tali was about to faint, it seemed, as all of her blood supply was funneled to her face, specifically, cheeks. _Here in my hands is what I need... to be with my...lifemate..._ Hearing the word, even in her head, caused a swell of happiness, and ran over grabbing his hand tightly.

Mordin noticed the raised volume, and calmly continued, looking at Tali. "Yours contains the levo protein ingestion tablets, and specialized immunosuppresants. Developed after the Shanxi incident specifically to protect turians from human bacteria. More effective than current treatment vectors."

Tali responded nervously, "Thank you Mordin... for everything."

He nodded, and unsurprisingly, had more to say. "Forwarding informational overview on errogenous zones, and comfortable positions for both species. Recommend full clean environment, will not suggest where." He seemed slightly uncomfortable at that remark, but continued, "Lastly, limit ingestion, especially Tali. Tablets will not process all of the proteins, and bacteria can internally spread."

_Damn, the hardest part, where to go, and he won't suggest anywhere. Fantastic, but we can wait... Well, I can. Tali though..._ Aj seemed satisfied with the assistance, but was interrupted from thanking.

_Oh keelah, I don't know what to say...ingestion?...Oh...Oh keelah._ The few more... raunchy... human educational vids she saw popped into her head. Dispelling the thought, Tali vocalized her own objection, "This is perfect Mordin, and I truly thank you. I know it wasn't easy to get this information... but we have no clean rooms, and the AI core is..." She sighed, and gave up her last bit of modesty. _Please... this will only happen once in my life... my first..._What followed was more of a plead than a vent; her voice was truly sad at the notion. "It's just... not special. I want, this, to work, but more importantly, I want us... to be happy."

Aj wrapped his arms around her, and she quickly was surrounded by her human's tight embrace. "Don't worry Tali... we'll wait if we have to." _There's no rush for this, for me though. Does the bonding go for..._ He had a strange feeling of happiness and nervousness. Tali had very powerful legs, as the recorded fight with Grunt he saw proved. _Being friendly to an AI definitely paid off._

Mordin quietly added, "No thanks are necessary, but for your current problem..." He sighed "Patience may be required to find a location, but everything else is set." Shrugging his shoulders, the salarian finished, "Will leave you two alone. Tests to run on Horizon samples, feel free to join sometime Aj." He left the room, leaving an overwhelmed couple in his wake.

After a few moments, he heard a noise coming from Tali, and she was moving slightly. He concentrated trying not to stall his hand soothing her back, and tried to contact his favorite supercomputer. _'EDI, can you sterilize the room?' _He thought.

She immediately interfaced in response, _'I began as soon as Dr. Solus left, Aj.'_

_'Thanks a ton' _ He began to relax from his synthetic self. _Still think that's crazy, but now... _Releasing his embrace, she looked up at him, her silver eyes accentuated. "Is something wrong Tali?"

She began to tear up in frustration. She noticed his hand pause on her back for a split second before breaking down. _Patience!? Keelah, I need this. Ever since he asked to bond... why? Do I need to talk to Shala? Aj? Do I tell them just his scent last time has driven me like this? I need to smell, see, kiss him again, I don't know why! He does not underst-_ Then he spoke; after a brief pause to recollect her senses, Tali fidgeted slighly in his arms, and answered, "Aj, I'm extremely nervous, and you know it makes me talk too much and stammer my words and I just can't focus or ev-" And that she was, her knees were already slightly buckling. However, a finger to her vocal emitter was an excellent cue to get her to become silent immediately. If only it worked that way on all women...

Aj smiled, and slowly lifted his hands towards her visor. _She's going to be the one to decide what she wants, not me._

As soon as she stopped, she saw Aj's hands slowly reaching up to her visor. The metallic glint of his skin looked especially exotic near the strong med bay light. For the first time in her life, she did not even raise a small claw in protest. _I need to stop crying, damnit! Every time, I just, I-_ A small hiss interrupted her mental struggle.

As soon as the visor came off her face, Aj could not help but smile. _Every time I see her face, I just don't know. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. _He glanced at the small lines on her cheeks, one rogue line across her forehead, and connect to the other side. These lines stood above a lavender countenance, her sharpened teeth were slightly showing. Most of all, the silver eyes what glowed back at him, released from their airtight prison. For the third time in over a decade, her eyes received unblocked light.

He gently put the visor on the table, and grabbed both of her hands in his. Tali quickly squeezed down on them, eyes never breaking contact with the man she loved. _He looks so different without the visor, and I can smell him... Keelah..._

_Ok... Here...I go... _Aj kept his smile, and said, "Tali, it's your choice. I'd love you no less fo-" He was stopped when he noticed a small quarian bouncing on her toes... she smiling at him.

_That's not a hard choice. _She uncontrollably bounced, and slightly thereafter, giggled. "Bosh'tet, I did not go through Mordin to 'chicken' " She said it with a strange inflection, "out. But..." Her hesitation preluded her turmoil, "what do you think?" _Does he...really want this too?_

Aj grinned at her human poultry reference, and grabbed the lubricant while faking a stern voice... badly, "We're definitely using this." He chuckled slightly, putting it back and holding her hand again. He just stared at the woman's blushing smile for a few moments, and whispered one thing. He tried to convey his heart in a few small words, "Tali, I will love you, always."

As soon as he spoke, the young quarian girl's heart nearly exploded. _He truly means it... we will, what shou- _She carefully leaned in, pressing her lips against his.

He saw her eyes glow when he spoke, and new she felt the same way about him. _She's amazing, I wish I cou-_ Instead of replying, Tali instead let her lips speak through a more direct language. He could taste her for the third time, an enticingly sweet sensation. She even smelled a bit sweet, much like a flower petal. The kiss conveyed the love both had for each other, but this time, it was far longer. Aj tried to extend his tongue past her lips, grazing her canine. She bit down ever so lightly in surprise, but slowly extended her own small purple tongue past his own lips. They continued their repective quests for dominance. Not just a few seconds long, for the kiss did not end until a full twenty seconds later.

As the lovers lips finally separated, both gasped deeply for air. Tali panted a few times, while Aj smiled at his soon-to-be bondmate. He gently stroked her cheek, getting a giggle out of the beautiful woman. She looked at him, eyes still glowing with all the love she could muster. "I will love you to Aj, always."

Aj replied by leaning into her, causing another battle for tongue dominance. Aj began gently stroking her back, when she gently moaned. The passion of the kiss continued, and began to prelude to a full-fledged fire of desire.

Two loud knocks interrupted the lovers. "Hello, Aj? Tali?" Tali growled lightly in annoyance, while Aj grumbled inaudibly with his own displeasure at the familiar voice.

Previously...

"So, have you asked them yet?" Dr. Michel asked happily.

_Damnit, a doctor isn't one to forget. _ His mandibles dropped a bit, replying, "No, I'll ask them before I get back to work. I promise." _No way she's going to drop it, might as well, doubt Tali will want to though. She won't trust me around Aj. Hah._

Seeing the sincere look in his eyes, the smart female smiled. She was about to retort when her omnitool blinked rapidly. She dejectedly announced "Sorry Gary, patient coming in! Talk to you soon!"

With a turian smirk, he answered, "You will." The link cut, but not before showing a radiantly smiling human doctor.

_By the spirits, what am I getting myself into. Okay, so... ask Tali... and get shot, no. Aj might be fine, hell as soon as he hears it serves alcohol..._ Garrus chuckled slightly and began a quick gait towards the med bay. He stopped at the end of the hall, noticing Dr. Chakwas was seated on the table, dreamily gazing into the labs currently opaque windows.

He got within a meter of her, but she still seemed unaware of his presence. He quietly began, "Heya doc."

The woman startled slightly, and smiled at the turian, replying in a relaxing tone. "Hello Garrus, I hope all is well with **your** doctor." They had also had a... private...discussion earlier. His excuse was, 'I never go into a battle unprepared.'

He snorted, waving his talons at the woman, "You know I'm still a single man. We're just meeting for dinner."_ Not so loud woman!_

Dr. Chakwas raised an eyebrow. "Dinner now? Thought it was lunch before, hmm?" She had that knowing grin only a few other asari matriarchs seemed to posess.

_Humans... _He shook his head at the thought, "Depends on the time." The turian cautiously looked to the right, and asked, "What's going on, you seemed out of it before."

She opened her mouth to speak, but a bulkhead opening stopped her. Mordin quickly scurried out of the room, headed directly to the other doctor. The salarian proclaimed in a lower voice, "Everything accounted for. Left for privacy." He took a seat by the doctor, pulling out a small nutrition bar.

_Privacy? What in Palaven's name? _Garrus questioned, "Who?"

Dr. Chakwas answered in a stern voice. "Aj and Tali, and if you question further scuttlebutt will have a new topic to discuss." Apparently doctor-patient confidentiality only was true on a government's ship.

_Oh how fantastic, Shepard will never let me live it down. _Garrus' eyes brightened for a moment, however "Good, I need to speak with them."

Mordin typed into his omnitool, and shook his head at the turian. His eyes showed no hate, but true concern, albeit apologetically, "Cannot allow. Room locked, environment sterilized. Likely Tali'Zorah without visor. Turian bacteria risk to her life."

_Without a visor? Wow, I've always wondered what... wait. Mordin's right. _Just the thought of violating one of his closest friend's privacy to quench his curiosity sickened him. He nodded in response, walking towards the kitchen.

Garrus came back with a pouch of a strange yellow paste. Dr. Chakwas gave him a strange look, so he elaborated, "It's zif'ohrnag, heard it's like human ice cream."

The doctor chuckled slightly in response, while Mordin added, "Dextro-protein based foods interesting in variety. Wish I could test, unfortunately, enjoy life." His monotone but true statement gained a chuckle out of the two.

Garrus replied in mock exasperation, "You're telling me you can't bioengineer something close in a levo form, something tried and failed for millenia? Some genius, bah."

Mordin grinned right back, causing the turian to shuffle nervously. "Will be too busy studying human interspecies relationships. Another dextro, but different species, yes?" He turned to his omnitool and began pulling up information.

Garrus scowled at Dr. Chakwas, who smirked back, "He's a doctor too." That was her only defense, but it was indeed solid.

Mordin looked up, his grin had dissipated. "Current advice, be wary of claws. Retract as much as possible." Before Garrus could answer, the doctor shook his head. "Not sexual advice. Injury not a good way to begin relationship, regardless of species. Small risk, but do not apply too much pressure in any situation."

Garrus sighed. _Mordin meant well, and it was logical advice. It's just... he made eveything into a research_. _Damnit, I'm not even dating her. _"Uhm, thanks doc, I'll be careful." He scratched his neck, "I'm going to knock, I'll probaly be right back."

He threw away his empty dessert pouch and headed towards the door. Even nearby, his acute turian hearing did not catch any speaking, but he did hear... something. _Are they... no. Tali wouldn't, too damn self-less, a med bay._ He stopped infront of the door, and took a deep breath. He raised his right arm and knocked on the bulkhead. "Hello, Aj? Tali?"

He heard a light growl and a grumble. "Just a second, Garrus." Aj answered, hiding most of his frustration.


	35. Confusing Humans

The turian heard the grumbling tone of the response, and hesitantly waited. _Damn, I guess they were busier than I thought, great way to start, an annoyed Tali. Fantastic..._

Back in the med bay, Tali almost squealed when she heard the door knock, but Aj's lips stopped the sound. When they parted, he looked at her eyes and calmly whispered -although it betrayed his inner worry-, "Relax love, the door's locked. Get your visor on please." He then looked towards the door and yelled out, "Just a second, Garrus."

Without hesitation, she obeyed. _That idiot! I finally had some alone time and he tries to barge his way in. The det kazuat! _ The infuriated young quarian hastily resealed her visor, blocking her once again from her dearly beloved. _I am going to throttle that turian!_ She felt a little bad, since he was one of her closer friends on the first Normandy.

Aj kept his focus on the door until he heard a soft hiss. He instantly relaxed knowing she was safe. _I hope Garrus is rea-_ The fuming young woman he saw when his head turned confirmed his fears before they were even clarified. _Goodluck Scarface. _He smirked, and thankfully Tali didn't notice. Her glare was fixated on the door. Aj directly controlled his omnitool, the spark causing her eyes to momentarily dart to the tiny sparks. The door unlocked soon thereafter.

Aj held her hand gently, hoping she would calm down. It worked, only to a small extent. The door opened revealing a very nervous looking Garrus. The turian managed to stammer, "Hey, uh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Tali was about to yell at the poor man, but his honest hesitations quelled her anger, temporarily. Aj felt her hand tense, so he began. "It's fine, so what's up?"

_What's up!? Why does he have to be nice... just... nicely kick him out.. Please._ Tali kept her thoughts to herself, however. She solemly added, "Garrus." With a slight nod. It was not a in a polite manner.

_Crap, I've got to get out of here... uh. _"Whenever you get the chance, I'd like to speak with you alone Aj. I'll leave." Before the couple could retort, he stepped back outside of the med bay in desperate retreat.

Both were silent a moment as their turian friend left as soon as possible. _Oh keelah I was rude, he didn't mean to intrude..._She quivered out, "Aj, uh, I...I'm sorry fo-" The bumbling quarian woman was stopped when she noticed his two hands were near her visor.

As soon as Garrus took a step back, he focused again on one of his allies as the doors closed shut. The red light followed seamlessly. _EDI ca-_

_Resterilization complete Aj._

_Thanks again EDI! _He glanced over at the woman who was glaring daggers earlier. Tali was looking at the floor, and as soon as she began to speak, he began lifting his arms towards her face. She paused when her eyes made contact. He warmly smiled and continued, slowly reaching the seals. Again, Tali did nothing to stop him, nor said anything in fear. A low hiss confirmed his successful deactivation.

Only a small giggle was heard as she looked at him smiling. Aj was much the same, and quietly whispered, "Uno mas, por favor."

Tali had no clue what he said; human Spanish was not a galactic language. She was about to ask what he said when he softly touched her forehead, slowly trailing down to her chin. As he put his arm around her back, they both leaned in for another passionate kiss. They kept the entanglement for a while, maybe ten minutes give or take. They both tried to convey all of their love into one physical action, and succeeded admirably. They finally ended and released their lips, all while gazing at each others eyes.

Aj grinned at his beautiful quarian bondmate, and finally spoke up. "Don't worry about anything Tali, I'm just glad we had some time." He chuckled slightly, and she blushed smirking in return. Before she could answer, he added, "I could stay here all day, but we really should get back to work... lifemate." He said the last word hesitantly -he was still not used to it- but her beaming smile was a reward enough.

_Keelah... that was... incredible. _She sighed when her eyes drifted back to her ominous barrier to the outside world, her mask. "I love you Aj, and you're right. Ken and Gabby might be doing the same thing down there." She ended giggling.

Aj lifted her mask and put it back on perfectly. He softly replied, "I love you too, and I'm starting to learn how to work your suit."

She replied thoughtlessly, "Good, maybe you'll learn how to take it off soon." _Oh keelah what did I just say? _She blushed furiously, and almost began to wring her fingers when he grabbed both her hands. He was especially gentle with her injured one.

_Oh.. well..._ He instinctively reached for her hands. She looked up, and he could tell she was blushing lightly. He grinned and responded coolly "Soon I will, mi amor." He always had spoken small amounts of Spanish on occasion, but only with people he knew deeply. Tali was definitely on that list, but he had nearly lost his old habit.

Tali tilted her head a bit, which Aj thought was very cute. She questioned lightly, "What does that mean before? You said something similar earlier."

Aj looked at her confused as well, and asked, "I thought your translators worked with human languages?"

She swatted his chest playfully responding. "Your species has so many different ways to speak. We quarians only have Khelish."

Aj looked at her with a bemused look, "Quarian? I could've sworn you were krogan!" This earned him a more powerful, but just as playful repeat swat.

She seductively added, "So you really wish I was a krogan? You said you liked these... hips." Her face darkened a hint, but she contained her bashfullness. _He'll see me soon enough..._ She was both excited and terrified at the prospect.

He chuckled, "Hey now, no teasing little dextro. I'll go all primate-like!"

She shook her head laughing, "No, you bosh'tets are more like Earth rats."

Aj raised an eyebrow at her joke, but coyly responded, "You know I still have that furry ancestor of yours saved, and I bet EDI would be interested..." He trailed off, satisfied at her gasp and sudden halt of laughter.

She murmured in horror, "You wouldn't..."

Aj kept it up smirking, "Probaly not, the pictures don't tell me how those hips came to be."

She grabbed both of his hands, then looked at his eyes with a warm smile. "I hope you like them." She snicked when she finished.

His eyes slowly gave her a one up, causing her to shuffle slightly and face warm immensely. He answered with a definite desire, "Absolutely beautiful."

She squeezed his hands, and in a sultry voice responded, "Good, because my body longs to be with you, to physically confirm our bond."

Aj had seen quite a few strange things in his lifetime. Hell, he was an oddity himself. Nothing, however, had prepared him for this. _Being seduced by an alien... never thought that'd ever happen in my life. But... this is the alien I intend to marry, man I love her. Tali'Zorah, my quarian bondmate, I will do my best to make you happy. _"I just hope I please you, my love."

She looked at her toes for a moment, then back up at him. _I know he means it, and I just hope I can please him just as much. How will I describe a soul rejoicing from meeting her other half?_ Her whisper was happy, but had undertones of fear, "You're the first, and... the only person I ever will be with."

He smiled warmly at his mistress, "I'll make it special for you." He nearly mentioned she was only his second partner, but did not want to spoil the moment. _She's the only person I'll ever love...a second chance._

She released his hands and wrapped her tiny, but long arms around him. "You will."

They contently held each other for a few seconds. _I love this woman..._ finally, Aj released the young woman. "We should really get out now, Dr. Chakwas might think there's an emergency." He chuckled at the thought, gaining a small laugh out of his partner as well.

She happily responded, "You're right, ready to reconfigure the fuel outputs?" A normally arduous endeavor seemed as joyful as a carnival ride to her. She put on her mask, thoroughly hiding her disdain for the covering.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm, "I'd love to honey, but I'm going to check on Garrus, check on what he wanted. Don't get too far ahead without me." He lifted her good hand, gently kissing the tip of her index finger. The couple slowly walked to the door, hand in hand.

Once it released, Tali reawakened from her blissful dreamlike state. _Oh keelah, I wish we didn't have to wait... _Her excited spirit did not wane, however, "Don't take too long or I'll finish without you!"

He waved her off laughing, "I'll be there soon, relax." She smiled and skipped towards the elevator. Aj, however, turned towards the forward batteries and began walking with a spring in his step. Little did he notice the grinning doctor walking past him, finally regaining her post.

Garrus had left the room in a frantic dash for freedom. As soon as the door closed in front of him, it turned red. A sigh of relief escaped his mandibles, as he walked back over to the two doctors. When he rearrived, both seemed to be frowning at him. He carefully sat down near the human doctor; Mordin was more dangerous.

"Privacy required, nothing else. Will be in lab if needed further." Mordin said. He nodded to the turian and older human, then left back to his... home, the lab.

The two were silent for a moment before Garrus began to speak. "I didn't think I was interrupting a... romantic event." His shoulders slumped at his own vocalization. _Damnit, Tali's going to kill me for this, maybe even Aj._

Dr. Chakwas chuckled before answering. "Whatever they were doing, it wasn't as intrusive as you may think. I'd advise you to be cautious around Tali, though."

Garrus got up slightly hesitantly. "Yeah, I know... All this trouble just to chat. Great." The expert sharpshooter began sulking towards the forward batteries.

Before he left conversational range, Dr. Chakwas added, "Don't worry, Aj doesn't get mad too often, he'll calm down his bondmate. I'll try to send him your way if I can. Alone of course." She smiled as he turned around with a surprised look.

_Okay, sounds like a good plan... wait. Bondmate? What the hell, I thought they were just dating? _He quietly responded, "Thank you doctor, but... bondmate?"

The doctor's warm smile turned quickly into a small frown. "Ask Aj when you see him, all I'll tell you." She turned away looking at a datapad, her hint to drop it.

He took the note, and nodded. "Thanks again, try to disarm Tali please." He was rewarded with a doctor's light snicker, and walked to the batteries.

Once he finally arrived, he sat there and awaited his expected 'doom' at the wrath of an angry quarian._ Damnit, a simple talk, and I just so happen to find them on their little love fiasco. Who the hell does that in a med bay anyway? It's their fault... Ah who am I kidding. She's a quarian...visorless, and at.. shit. I probaly infected the whole damn room. Great, just great._

Looking at his terminal, he shook away his thoughts. _Might as well calibrate this old puppy up. Kaiden would have loved this thing. I hope the turian spirits have room for the humans. Some of them at least._ He felt like going to chat with Shepard, but trudged towards his work post.

Garrus hesitantly looked at the hologram interface. "EDI?"

She instantly emerged at the said location. "Yes Garrus?" He was about to answer, but the synthetic continued, "Before you elaborate, the room was resterilized moments after you departed. You did not endanger miss Zorah, and I would have kept the door locked if she was not ready."

Rarely was the marksman thankful to a synthetic._ Shit, Tali dates a partially synthetic human, and now she's being looked out by a fully self-aware AI, on a Cerberus ship... And I'm a turian, and my closest friend is a human. Next we'll see Mordin cure the genophage or something, this is ridiculous. What did Aj say, 'normalcy is a distant goal?' or something. I agree. I wouldn't have it any other way._ He noticed he paused for a long moment, and finally replied, "Is Shepard busy?"

She responded as quickly as possible. "He is currently resting. Would you like me to inform you when he's awake?"

_Say what you will Tali, she's damn helpful... _"Yes please."

"Understood." She blinked out as fast as she arrived.

He nodded in approval, and began to type into his terminal. Say what you will about calibrating, it sure as hell beats pondering what might happen in a Tali rage scene.

The turian became completely absorbed in his work, a common occurence. However long had passed since he began was unknown; it felt like an incredibly short amount for him, at least. _ In short range, I can optimize the Thanix to spread, much like a plasma ball? Hmm, it'd take a lot of power. Possi-_ His thoughts were interrupted by the bulkhead opening behind him.

When Aj reached the gun room, he was treated to the common sight of Garrus at work. _Hell, he's almost at his terminal as much as Tali is on hers.. Well, time to see what's what. _The calibrator had already turned around to face the new presence.

Aj started the dialogue after a short pause of silence, "So, you said you wanted to chat? Sorry, but I was busy earlier."_ Definitely busy... though I think my lips are going to be chapped._

Garrus scratched the back of his neck, and looked slightly bashful. "No need, I thought you two were just talking. I didn't expect such a... private... intrusion."_ That still sounds worse than I wanted it to._

Aj sighed, and looked away for a moment. He refaced the turian, not in anger, but in... sadness? "It's just... you know her suit. It's a prison if you think about it. I don't get to see her too often, and well... I really treasure the short time I can be with her face to face." He went back to a reassuring smile. "It's fine though, I got to spend quality time with her, before and after. But enough about that, I'll get her to forget about it. What did you need before that whole fiasco?"

_Damnit, that makes it much better... He'll tell her to forget about it? I appreciate that he's on my side, but I highly doubt that. _He quietly answered, "Well, I wanted your advice on something... private as well."

Aj blushed as soon as he finished. _Does he think we've already...? This might get awkward... crap. I wish dad could see this, he'd have a good laugh. _Smiling at the thought, he tried to act, well, like Aj. "Sorry, I don't swing that way. Already got a quarian for life."

_For life? Maybe he really is her bondmate..._The light banter had its effect, as Garrus felt less stressed out. Shaking the previous thought, he scoffed at the human's idiocy. "Yeah yeah, we all know. But seriously, I well..." He looked around the room for an invisible answer to nothing, "I need some help, and I think you'd have a little insight."

Aj took a seat on a crate, while Garrus did the same at his cot. The human answered, "Go for it. But anything about Tali, well... you know I can't tell."

The turian lifted his talons in surrender, retorting, "Shotgun, trust me, I know." He chuckled a little bit, "It's about human women actually."

_Oh shit, so he's actually going through with that doctor lady Tali told me about?_ "So you think I'd be useful since I've dated human women, and now mar-" He quickly stopped himself. _Crap crap I've got to keep it on the down-low for now. _"with a quarian?"

_Mar? Did he mean... marry? Oh by the spirits, Tali's seriously bonded to the human. I've never heard of anything like that... _Again stopping his own thoughts, he went back to the subject at hand. "Yes, well, you've obviously overcome certain... obstacles. Do you have any dating advice? Human women are so strange, nothing like the turians."

_Even aliens agree. Women are as simple as a quantum physics, what a pleasure._ He replied grinning, "All you can do is be yourself, that crosses throughout all species. Unless you're talking about things a bit more serious." He ended laughing at the turian's expense. A certain mandibular click had been deciphered as a blush. It was no secret gesture now.

Garrus shook his head quickly in denial. "No, well, maybe someday. But seriously, I'm going on a 'date' with one." He looked at Aj, then stared down at his legs. The voice what followed was a quiet, nearly desperate whisper, not common for a hardened turian war veteran. "I've known her over four years. She's been a hell of a friend. Everytime I'd find someone who needed help, she'd always volunteer. Chloe even did some of it no charge." He made eye contact again with his human advisor. "She means a lot to me, and I want this to work, or at least not completely screw things up. I don't have many old friends besides Tali and Shepard."

_Four years? That's a long time..._"Think of it this way. She's stayed loyal to you for four whole years you say. Obviously she likes whatever you do. Like I said, be yourself. Enjoy your time, don't overthink it. It's the same as any day, any species of women, just different superficial qualities."

Garrus paused, thinking about what he said. _Makes sense, she seems to like me. I don't think I'm a good actor, anyway. _"So does Tali act like a human woman? That's my big issue, the whole species barrier, not the person behind it."

Aj looked at him with a rather amused look. "It's not like its a big secret, you're a turian, she knows that. I bet she feels the same way about you. It doesn't seem like your kind is much different than mine, I mean how you act." He grinned and added, "If a human can love a quarian, why not a turian?"

The word love caused the male dextro to flinch a scale, but he regained his composure quickly. "I guess your right, nothing will really help until the date, I suppose." He didn't know why -none of the information he'd received was really new- but he felt a lot better. Just talking about it, even if rather briefly, helped immensely. Garrus was confident he would be fine, as long as he did not overthink things. _That's one hell of a task though._

_Thank goodness it was just about dating, he probaly doesn't want to keep digging a hole. _"Whatever happens, don't lose a friend in the process."

Garrus seemed to agree silently, and stared for a moment. "Do you know the human doctor I'm talking about"

Aj seemed startled, answering, "Not a clue, seems a strange question to ask. Galaxy's not a small place."

Garrus grinned in agreeement, continuing, "Did Tali ever tell you how she got on the first Normandy?"

Aj was still lost, but responded vaguely, "She acquired geth intelligence Shepard needed, he saved her, and then joined the crew. That about sums it up for me." He also added, "Also, she got shot pretty bad between the whole acquiring and saving stage."

Garrus chuckled, "Dr. Michel was the doctor who fixed her up. She really wants to see her most famous ex-patient."

"Ahh, that's pretty neat. She didn't give me the doctors name. Guess it is a small galaxy after all." He smirked, but questioned, "So haven't you asked her about it?"

Garrus's nervous demeanor returned with one small sentence; "I was about to but, well, you know what happened." He stammered awkwardly, "She wanted to uh, go on... well a double date. Wanted to meet you too."

_Huh, another doctor. The one who helped Tali all those years ago? Sounds like fun, and we haven't even had our first date. _He withheld his blush, only darkening a fraction. "I'll ask, but I don't see a problem with it. Just... don't piss her off, I claim no responsibility for enraged quarian actions." His tone was both joking, but had a hint of seriousness. "I take it you're going to a bar?"

Garrus had a loud guffaw, waving him off. "Not this time, but it does serve alcohol! Doesn't cost much either, and even had food sterilizers for Tali."

Aj stuck out his hand. "Sounds good Garrus, I'll go talk to her now."

Firmly shaking it, the turian responded, "Yeah, tell her I'm sorry, save me a few scales."

"Maybe, it'd be more fun to make something up." He mocked with a smirk. "Anways, I'll let you know, take it easy up here. You don't have to be so nervous."

Garrus shuffled around a bit hesitantly, and nodded. "Fair enough, and goodluck down there, you'll need it."

Aj snorted his agreement, leaving the room with a grin. _Three species, two humans, one date. Tali we need to do this, I just hope Garrus doesn't piss her off. Good o'le...violent quarian babes. _He began the short trek to the elevator, trying to return to his 'home' with his bondmate beside him.

**Det kazuat:** Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. The Otquer, a large predatory lizard, will pass its meal neatly wrapped in a membranous tissue. Inside the sack, the enzymes used to break down the meat of the prey while still in the lizard continue to act as a stimulant keeping the indigestible brain synapses of its last meal still working until the sun dries the sack out.


	36. Man vs Quarian

Aj happily made his way down towards the elevator, waving to Rupert on his way out. The cook gave him an amused look at his overexhuberant behavior, but he did not slow down to conversate. When he finally arrived at the blasted contraption he remembered one important factor. _Getting to the elevator and getting to your destination are two drastically different times. _The large human sighed on his way into the small compartment. Anxiously, he waited for the agonizing trip to end, all the while smirking like a moron. _Tali's going to love this, haha! Or... go shoot him here and now, who knows?_

When he got down to the engineering deck, he hunched lowly, stealthily stepping towards the bulkhead on his right. The first door opened seamlessly and quietly, and his ruse was beginning to take shape. _She thinks she can always hear me, hah! I'll show her._

Concentrating prior to proceeding, he thought, _"EDI, please attempt to distract Tali."_

The synthetic replied almost of sighing, _"I do not guarantee success."_

He slipped out of his concentration., grinning. After giving EDI about ten seconds to work her magic, he began to move again silently. He crept towards the second door, and it opened quickly. Unfortunately, the door revealed a certain quarian staring down at him in amusement. Both her hands were on her hips, which in turn were leaning on her back leg. Her front three toes were rapidly tapping the ground.

Her toes quelled their patting as he slowly rose from his sad attempt at sneakiness. Her grinning reciprocated through her voice. "So, bosh'tet, you're trying to sneak up on me?" When he got up he was rewarded with a punch to the shoulder while simoultaneously her grabbing his hand and squeezing. She smugly added, "You should know EDI can't lie."

Aj chuckled a moment before wrapping her in an embrace. "It was worth a shot wasn't it?" He tightened his grip before releasing the small quarian. She wholeheartedly disapproved of the breaking away, smiling regardless at him underneath her mask. They made their way, hand in hand, towards their respective terminals. After a brief silence, Aj continued, "Besides embarassing you is fun." He pinched her right posterior cheek, earning a surprised high-pitched yelp.

She rubbed her bottom, blushing and in a mood for revenge. Quickly and wordlessly, Tali pounced at him. Ken had looked over right when she squeaked, and was treated to a sight any rugby player would be proud of, an exceptional tackle. Even Aj's strength could not withstand that kind of jump, and he landed butt first to the floor. She straddled the human in triumpth.

Tali giggled, softly stating, "And now... Now I've got you right where I want you." She was not soft enough, as Ken began howling in laughter. _Oh keelah I thought they were both gone!_ The embarrassed girl looked over to the other side, where Ken stood grinning at the sight. A second chuckling was heard from a human closer by, one on his back laying on the floor, perhaps.

Tali quickly got up wringing her fingers for a moment, then running to her terminal. Gabby walked in to see Tali skirting away from her own boyfriend and Aj.

She walked up to him scowling, "What did you do to her?" She was close to slapping his face right then and there.

The scotsman's grin widened as he responded. "Nothing. She said it herself this time."

It was difficult to escape Ken's grin and chuckling, as well as Gabby's confused look. Aj was smirking as well, and joined his lover on the correct side. She was furiously typing away at the console, finishing up the fuel outputs from earlier. Six fingers were doing more work than a normal human's ten could never dream of.

Her genius, but slightly ramblish, mind was in overdrive. _Now Ken is going to tell everyone what I said and Kelly will never shut up. Not a single moment of privacy, at least on th fleet there are clean rooms. Oh keelah if Kasumi finds out. She will, oh-_

Aj interrupted her mental apocalypse by snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Now I'm absolutely positive those hips aren't just for show!" He said it loud enough to earn another howl of laughter from a male engineer across the room. His companion did not approve, and a hiss and a complaint were heard muffled by the diagnostics.

Despite her previous bashfullness, she could not help but giggle his humor. "You know I have a face too, right?"

Aj smiled, knowing her uneasiness was just as easy to get rid of as to begin. "Yes, but your face doesn't attack." He paused for a moment, and in mock fear, continued, "Unless you plan on using those teeth on innocent humans."

She bumped his hip with hers, again giggling lightly. "Maybe if you keep trying to scare me. Or staring at my hips!" Tali barred her teeth. Aj could barely make out the white blades protruding from her lips. You'd have to look very carefully behind her purple tint.

Aj gasped in fake horror and pretended to ignore her via focusing on the terminal ahead. Tali, however, was adept at gaining his attention. Even if she wasn't, he would learn a fact about quarians. Never ignore your lifemate.

She smirked, "Oh so now you'll be quiet huh? I should sharpen these." _Oh my what would Shala say if she saw me in a decon room... sharpening my teeth. Hah! She would think I'm crazy... or humans have very strange mating rituals. _She blushed thoroughly at what possibilities that would lead to, but managed to stop herself before going too... in depth.

Aj imagined Tali sitting on a barstool without her visor. She was leaning on a grinding stone sharpening her teeth with the ludicrously large and spinning object. _Those little guys could do some serious damage. Like a puppies first set of teeth or something, but on a quarian! Teeth, shotgun, and those legs? Wise ass remarks may need to be limited. There are... terrible things... those teeth could do in an... unclothed... situation. If quarians do the same ora-_ He did not verbally answer, slightly worrying the actual quarian beside him.

_Oh keelah, is he actually scared of..._She quietly asked,"Aj, are you scared of my teeth?"

Aj snapped out of his random tangent, and smiled warmly at his woman. "No bosh'tet, they're actually kind of cute! If anything I'm scared of your trusty shotgun."

She was happy with the answer, "Don't forget about Chiktikka!" Curiously prodding, she continued, "So what were you thinking about?"

He coyly responded, "Just about you."

"Oh?" He did not take the initiative, silence responding her retort. His typing speed seemed to increase drastically.

After another moment of silence, Tali dejectedly began to work on her own read outs also. _Humans are so strange sometimes... or maybe he really is nervous on them... or... that?_

Aj was not ready to bring up the two doctors recently, but he saw her shoulders slump...only slightly. _Shit, probaly about the talk. Well, might as well..._He gently whispered, "You know it wasn't bad, right?"

Tali was slightly startled, but calmly looked right back at his green eyes. She quietly replied back,"Are you sure you want to go through with that, Aj?"

Aj's worried face was replaced with a rather large grin. "Of course, just I have no idea what to expect." He quickly noticed how that sounded, and rephrased it. "I know you're beautiful, but I... I hope the doctors were right."

Tali inwardly blushed; she knew exactly what he was nervous about now. She hesitantly answered, "I uhm..." She began wringing her fingers and lowered her voice even more so, nearly inaudible. "I researched human anatomy...and well...it's pretty similar." She was in no mood to elaborate about herself.

Aj relaxed at that, and was about to inform her. In a near fearful whimper, Tali's voice interrupted. "I can show you... me... i-"

He interrupted right back, sounding stern but in a low enough voice, "Tali, why are you still doubting me, you know I find you attractive. More importantly, I love you._" Being hidden from the outside world really isn't good for quarian girls' self esteem. They really should invest in clear visors. She's absolutely gorgeous..._

_I don't know why. Keelah, I'm still..so scared...I...trust him... _She whispered back confidently, "I love you too Aj...Do you trust me?"

Aj grinned as he responded, wrapping her in an embrace for the second time in a short timespan, "With the air I breathe." _Wonder if sh-_

In a new sultry tone, his quarian lover surprised him, the words purring out of her lips "I will soon, Aj."

Aj's warm smile turned into a smirk. _Oh, now who's the anxious one? And they call you poor innocent Tali. Well, she's only even kissed me... Still !_ They contently held each other, but then they heard a throat clearing. Loudly.

Aj looked up seeing the other engineers smirking at him and his lover. Tali let go quickly, standing beside him motionless... all besides her fingers mercilessly dancing away near her waist. Not a word was said for an eternal second.

Ken bravely spoke up, chuckling the conclusion, "You kids are worse than newlyweds, ya know?"

As soon as he said newlyweds, Aj unconciously tensed up for a brief moment. The tall man locked eyes with Gabby for a moment, who had a twinkle in her eye. His nervous expression did wonders to elaborate. A small cue which Gabby picked up on. Her beaming smile came soon thereafter. "You two are newlyweds?!"

Tali's hands were nervously wringing, and she was well aware of one thing. _These two bosh'tets are going to tell the whole ship. Oh...I hope Aj doesn't mind..._

Aj shrugged his shoulders. _No way Tali's pleading is getting us out of this one, really. _"Nope, I uh, proposed, and well, she said yes." He decided the human terms were an easier way to explain the situation.

Gabby's smile did not falter, and she excitedly jumped up and ran at Tali. The young quarian was surprised by her powerful hug, but happily returned it nonetheless. She relseased the hug with a little self-concious, but was back to her beaming smile rapidly. "I'm so happy for both of you!" Ken nodded his agreement.

Tali grabbed on to Aj's hand, doing her best to hide her nervousness. Aj began to speak, "Thanks you two, that means a lot. I think she's the best thing to ever happen to be." He lovingly looked at her, a radiant smile greeting his quick gaze. Glancing back over to the two friendly engineers, "So, I take it this is the end of the secret?"

Gabby smirked, but thankfully responded, "I'll keep it a secret, but not for long!"

Ken had wisely shut up so far, but he couldn't resist. "Aye, not a secret for long anymore. But I dun want to be a'hearin-" An extremely sharp elbow to his side forcefully quieted the man. Miss Daniels did not need to speak; the daggers she was glaring did the trick.

Aj couldn't help laughing, earning a 'shut up or die' squeeze from miss Zorah. Obliging, he added, "You know, I don't know who's worse. Tali or Gabby, both so darn violent. At least EDI is peaceful." A certail quarian resisted the urge to swat him, as it would only give him more ammo.

The third party artificial intelligence interjected, "I can reconfigure my defensive programming to prioritize... 'bosh'tets'." Tali was absolutely speechless, but hid a slight grin under her mask. _Keelah, laughing at an AI's joke. Father would shoot me on the spot, for sure..._

Ken chuckled and shook his head, getting back to work. "They'll be the death of us, and EDI will record it laughing." The two went back over to their post, speaking towards each other below the decibel for eavesdropping.

The interspecies couple also returned to their area. When they arrived, Aj smirked, refacing his terminal. "Yeah, nothing says thank you like threatening your bondmate with a shotgun."

The woman coyly asked, "Oh really now?" Tali gave into temptation, and out of nowhere summoned Chiktikka. Aj jumped quickly doing a strangely acrobatic barrel role, but the drone hit its match. A well-placed bolt of electricity shocked him right in the ass.

He yelped in pain, and started rubbing said gluteous maxims "Damnit!"

Giggling like a little girl, Tali happily deactivated her favorite drone. "I've got other toys besides my shotgun."_ Hehe, first Garrus, and now Aj! Chiktikka has an excellent record. That's what he gets for pinching my butt! _ Ken and Gabby were both laughing extremely loudly at the Puerto Rican's expense.

Aj dejectedly got up, grumbling something about biting his metallic ass, but had his own devious plot. He welcomingly said, "Oh Tali?"

She cautiously walked next to him, grinning in her triumpth. "Yes bosh'tet?" She was a little too smug. _Oh somebody has a rude awakening waiting for her, don't you worry._

Aj smoothly continued, "Well, I wanted to say-" He swooped quickly towards his lover. She reacted quickly, jumping, but unfortunately landed right in his arms. He tossed her over his shoulder, her legs kicking around his torso.

She squealed in disapproval. "Stop that! I don't like heights!" Ken was on the ground, clutching his side in laughter. Gabby's face resembled a tomato.

Aj smiled at the thrashing woman, and lifted her above his head. Her hands could easily touch the ceiling. He wisecracked, "Did you say you like heights?"

Her squirming increased exponentially as she got higher, but she couldn't escape. Trying to pull a 'spiderman maneuver' via furiously at the ceiling. She failed miserably, and screamed in terror when suddenly she was in freefall. Tali softly landed in Aj's hands. He had a devilish grin on his face.

Panting heavily and her dextro-equivalent adrenaline calming, she was infuriated._ What the hell is he doing!?_ She forced herself out of his hands, facing him with a death glare. His grin made her falter slightly, but her anger still showed. "Don't do that you idiot!"

Ken and Gabby shut up at the rather determined anger that 'little quarian' could rain. Aj, however, was not deterred in the least. He cockily added, "You live in space and you're scared about a little height? You faced a giant squid and a mere human scares you?" He chuckled at the girl's clenched fist. He was not laughing so much when a fist connected with his chest, knocking him back. _Oh, she's serious? _One could practically see the steam leaving her suit.

He quickly walked forward, embracing his lifemate. "Fine, no more heights, happy?" Her arms tightening seemed to indicate a positive response. "Okay, let's do some theoretical calculations on that shielding upgrade you thought up?"

Her perky demeanor returned, "As long as you don't pinch my butt again, maybe." She swayed her hips seductively towards the terminal, giggling at his obvious oogling. "I still have a face, bosh'tet."

Aj guffawed at her teasing attitude, replying, "Yeah, but that masterpiece deserves its fair share of attention." His smirk only grew as her face darkened immensly.

She shook her head in embarrassment and ...pride? "You primates and your obsessions with butts and hips."

The semisynthetic human chuckled, "And three fingers." He grabbed her hand quickly, twittling her fingers. The duo had always found a mutual interest in playing with each others digits. It was a strange for both species, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Giggling, she added, "Unless they're in a fist!"

Looking down at his chest for a second, he answered with a scoff, "Gee, thanks. I love you too." Her glowing eyes and shimmering smile wordlessly stated her agreement. The strange couple happily worked on Tali's engineering breakthrough for the rest of the trip.

"Commander, we are arriving on Illium in approximately five minutes. Docking at Nos Astra." EDI chimed at the terminal.

Shepard groggily lifted himself from his peaceful slumber, and answered, "Tell the ground team to suit up, we're leaving in five."

"Yes commander."After a small pause, she added. "The Illusive Man requested your audience while you were asleep. Since it was not a high priority, he agreed to wait until you woke up." She briefly hesitated again, "I thought you could use the sleep."

_I thought you could use it? Is EDI showing... compassion? She ceases to amaze me everyday. _He gratefully replied, "Thanks EDI you were right. Tell him I'll be down there immediately." He put on his Cerberus officer outfit. He detested the insignia, but could not lie. It was extremely comfortable. He calmly walked down to the briefing room, and after a few more seconds, was face to face with his illusive benefactor.

"Commander, I understand you are on Illium, EDI located two new leads while you were asleep." Oddly, his tone did not convey any laziness disapproval.

Shepard questionally perused, "EDI found them?"

The man took a drag out of his cigarette before calmly retorting. "I asked EDI to run searches on the last recruit. He is currently on Illium, planning an assasination. He is at the Dantius towers, and we already have a transport shuttle reserved."

The commander began scratching his chin. _So help Miranda or recruit this new guy, who's a murderer... I think I'll go with-_

The Illusive Man interrupted his thoughts, "Also, we have located your former teammate, Liara T'Soni." He crossed his arms as the man continued. "Currently, she is working as a powerful information broker." Stalling for effect, the man added, "I have a proposition for you concering her."

Shepard quirked his eyebrow. This man did not often give out requests, only orders. "What's on your mind?"

The human tycoon looked oddly stern for a normal conversation. "We have information which could lead to the Shadow Broker's base. Rumors state that is her goal, also. You give the information to her, free of charge. This may provide the intel we need to beat the Collectors, far more valuable than what credits could pay."

_Liara's been looking for the Shadow Broker? What the hell happened in these years. Tali marrying a human, Garrus has a pole up his ass, Ashley's...married, and now this? Damn..._ Regaining his thoughts, the commander nodded. "Sounds good, I'll get to it immediately. Keep me posted."

The Illusive Man took another drag of his cancer stick, seemingly back to his stoic expression. "Excellent, EDI and I will keep looking for anything useful as you go. Also, I have located more information on Miranda's... mission. Check your tool." The man logged out. Shepard's omnitool blinked repeatedly, signalling multiple caches of new information.

When he arrived at the armory, he noticed he was the only one not fully armored and weaponed. He quickly changed that, as the task was near second nature to him. He hurried to readiness, and the squad met on the shuttle. "Alright everyone, we're going to help out Miranda first. The Eclipse are starting a fight, and we're going to finish it." Seeing the nods of approval, he nodded back as they entered the shuttle. _Looks like everybody likes to kill mercenaries._

While the craft descened, Shepard could not help but admire the view from his omnitool's window simulation. _Fully armored, expecting trouble, all in this beautiful colony. Huh, filled with asari too... _He glanced over at the justicar, who sat in the shuttle quietly. She was staring out the window, deep in thought. _I hope asari cooking is good, she was extremely proud of her works._

Thousands of light years away, a desicion had been made.

"Concensus reached." The mobile hardware platform submitted its results to the main geth conclave. The information was directly from Haestrom, it had been withheld from the main consensus due to an unknown programming. The geth unit had a strange impulse that it alone needed to review the data before sharing it. The data showed all recordings from the quarian's arrival to their departure.

"Query: Non-zero possibility for Reaper forces inside Creator fleet. Attacking organics has not led to beneficial outcomes. We are favoring observation, not attack." The entire collective thoroughly analyzed the data and replied in microseconds.

The highly advanced mobile platform sent back a response nearly as quick. "Must neutralize target, cannot risk Creator fleet. Organic espionage as a Reaper threat, probability high. Quarian Tali'Zorah vas Neema, destroyer of an Old Machine, must be protected specifically."

After an entire second, a synthetic eternity, the consensus responded. "Neutralize possible Reaper unit. Likely location, quarian fleet. Must monitor. Continuing search for Normandy."

The platform had its orders. Kill the organic/synthetic construct from Haestrom, and find Shepard. Finding Shepard was now only a secondary objective; the geth were very efficient in their searches.

The concensus added one last issue before breaking direct contact. "Attempt to capture a functioning unit with non-lethal force. We will study the Reaper infiltration tactics with a living example."


	37. The Blue Planet pt 1

_About freaking time Illium, I know._

The group of five stepped out of the vehicle. Since it was Illium, an upper-class asari colony, the team each only brought one main gun and a Carnifex. Kasumi had her beloved Locust, as did Miranda. Samara carried her upgraded Vindicator, while Garrus sported his dearly beloved Viper. Shepard had tensely debated whether to snag his Collector beam or the trusty Revenant. He eventually chose the beam rifle.

Stepping out of the vehicle last, Shepard was surprised when the shuttle took off. _What the hell, trying to strand me EDI? _Quickly, the commander accessed his ship coms. "EDI, we need the shuttle."

"Aj and Tali requested transportation to the surface. Do you wish for me to cancel the order?" She calmly replied.

"No, but keep it down after this. Do you know what they plan on doing?" He inquired.

"Aj has repeatedly suggested the Eternity lounge, and Ken seems to agree." The synthetic's voice changed inflexion in what seemed amusement. "However, I believe Tali will have the final say in the matter."

Shepard and Garrus made eye contact, and the turian nodded - an unsaid scheduling of a visit to said bar after the mission. Chuckling, Shepard ordered, "EDI just make sure he knows we may have to dust off in five minutes or less."

"Understood commander." She beeped out of the coms.

Kasumi was shaking her head with a smirk. "I really hope Tali knows what she's getting herself into." She had spoken with the quarian a quite a few times, and nervous would be an understatement. An expensive bar might not be the best idea. Samara seemed completely unfazed by the new information.

As she stated her opinion, an asari began to approach the group. She was surrounded by a couple of LOKI mechs, not a serious threat. The woman approached walking at a brisk pace.

The entire group instantaneously readied their weapons, all pointing at the now extremely frightened asari. The two LOKI mechs had their weapons ready as well, though if they could do any damage was in serious doubt. She was still over five meters away when Shepard bellowed, "Who the hell are you?"

The woman's fearful appearence did not diminish, it might have actually grown. She stammered, "Comm..commander Shepard? Lia...Liara T'soni sent me to tell inf-" She was cut short when Shepard strided up towards her, signaling the team to drop their weapons.

The commander's voice was much calmer when he was in normal range. "Liara sent you?" His gun was holstered, but he was still tense. When she nodded, he continued, "Sorry about that, but we have to be on alert, especially on Illium."

The asari seemed to relax quite a bit, as the rest of the team had put away their substantial weaponry. Once they gathered near Shepard, she began, "Liara T'soni sent me to inform you that, for one, your docking fees have been covered. Also, she would like to meet you at your earliest convenience. Her office overlooks the nearby trading center."

Shepard smiled at the woman, "Thanks for the help miss, more of my crew's coming down as well. They might need some directions too. And uh..." He typed into his omnitool for a few moments. "They are expecting you, so no more fun-filled standoffs unfortunately."

Visibly pleased by the results, she returned the smile. "I will await them, and please enjoy your stay at Nos Astra." She bowed and walked over towards the airlock, taking a seat at a nearby bench. She kept a rather large grin facing Shepard.

Ever the observant avian, Garrus checked back at her, and noticed the look. As the group began to walk away, he jibbed, "Hey Shepard, see? Asari drool all over you." A small glare appeared on Samara's face, but it was not of jealousy. The turian had not noticed, however, and continued, "Better watch out for Liara." Miranda responded by rolling her eyes.

Chuckling, the commander replied, "No way, she's still a kid. A blue kid who was born before my grandma, nonetheless." A certain justicar gave him a strange look, to which he just laughed and waved her off. "No comment." He turned back to Garrus, "Not my style."

Kasumi interjected, "You're calling an asari a kid? They're centuries old! A young asari can be over 200!" If it was ever possible, Samara's current expression looked somewhat dejected. Even justicar women seemed to be at least slightly self-concious about their age.

Looking at the theif, he smirked, "She's 108, but I mean how she acts. You'll see."

Miranda decided to toss her own two cents, and sarcastically asked, "Not your style? What's your style, besides being greviously mutilated nearly every mission."

Speeding up his pace, Shepard grumbled, "At least I try to keep myself armored up, not prance around in a catsuit."

Garrus and Kasumi both chuckled, while Samara seemed to be paying more attention to the scenery. Shepard glanced at Miranda, who seemed to disapprove of the remark. Her scowl was not to be misinterpreted. Thankfully, they were by the office balcony.

At the top, they were greeted by a cheerful asari. "Hello! How may I service you?"

A turian snicker was heard, as well as Miranda's elbow meeting his side. Shepard courteously responded, " I need to see Liara, tell her its Shepard."

She smiled and nodded, then made eye contact with Samara. "It is a pleasure to see you again, I hope all was satisfactory?"

Samara bowed slightly, and stoically responded, "It was, thank you." Shepard gave her an inquisitive look, but she did not elaborate.

The receptionist walked back to her terminal, and typed on it for a few seconds. The door beside them opened soon thereafter."Miss T'soni will be expecting you."

Nodding, Shepard turned into the door, the rest right behind him. Quickly, he was treated to the back of very familiar scalp crests.

Liara calmly and eerily said, "Have you ever faced an asari commando? Few humans have." _What the hell? That's what Benezia said. _The human being spoken to did not seem too thrilled at the insinuation. She continued, "Either you pay me, or I WILL flay you alive... with my mind!" Her anger and authority were something he had never heard from the previously nervous and socially awkward archaeologist. _What happened in those two years?_

After clearing his throat, Shepard said, "Liara?"

The 'young' asari quickly turned around while cutting the link, knowing the voice. "Shepard!?" She strided over to the commander, enveloping him in a biotically-enhanced hug. Liara released the embrace, and quietly stated, "I heard you were alive, but now, actually seeing you..."

Shepard chuckled a bit, answering, "It's nice to see you too Liara." After a momentary pause, he added, "Those were some serious threats."

She smirked in response, but her eyes met a certain turians. "Garrus!" She pounced at him with an equal ferocity as she had with Shepard.

Garrus returned the hug awkwardly. When she let go, he responded, "Been a few months, hasn't it? Sorry, I was... busy on Omega."

Liara raised an eyebrow at him, and calmly added, "Yes..Archangel, like having Shepard save your skin." Garrus's eyes widened in surprise.

The commander was about to ask why she was making the threats, and how the hell she knew he was Archangel, but the asari's eyes yet again strayed. This time, they met one of her own kind's. She visibly tensed at the sight. "Justicar."

Samara coolly said, "I am not here on my own business. I do appreciate your assistance in my previous mission. Thank you."

Liara seemed to relax a bit, turned around, and sat back at her desk. After situating on her chair, she asked, "So, how can I help you, Shepard? And I hope Careena did not cause you trouble at the docks." She looked around for a bit, then at her blue hands. "I also ...uh... hoped to see Tali, but it seems she's unavailable."

Quickly, Shepard informed, "The greeter just startled us, nothing words didn't fix. As for Tali, she'll be down in a few, apparently she's going on a group date down to the bar soon." Noticing her smile at the news, he decided it was time to get to business. "Miranda?"

"Yes?" The Cerberus operative had been getting sightly impatient, but could understand the sentiment behind the squad. She had professionally bided her time, and perked up at her name being called. Noticing he and the asari were staring at her, she sighed loudly, looking at Liara, "My sister, Orianna, might be in danger. It's the Eclipse." Miranda took out her omnitool, and forwarded some data towards Liara's.

Liara looked through the new data, and began activating her terminal. After a few more silent seconds, she looked up with a small smile. "I'll forward the location of the last known transmission on her, it was less than thirty minutes ago. You're right, Eclipse, so be prepared. I am currently using my forces to prevent the group and their... cargo..." She hesitantly used the synonym for her sister, "From leaving the docks. I can't hold them forever, though."

Miranda yelled, a little too loudly, "We need to get to her immediately!"

Calmly, Shepard replied, "Miranda, we will. Just one more thing before we go." Liara was rather impressed at his commanding influence, as she submitted without a struggle. He pulled out his omnitool and sent her another data pack. "This is an assasin we're looking for. If you know anything about his whereabouts, please inform me."

Liara received the packet, and glanced over it for a while. Suddenly, she gasped at a picture. "Krios..."

"Who?" Shepard inquired.

She closed off the data pack, slightly embarrassed. "He's a very skilled assasin. If you're trying to eliminate him, it might be tough, even for my network." She sounded a bit displeased with the admission. "I'm surprised even Cerberus has such a small lead, though."

Shepard nodded his understanding, and stood up with his squad. Graciously, he replied, "Thanks for the help, Liara. It'd be nearly impossible without you. " As the team began to funnel out of the room, Shepard stayed behind for one last thing. Looking at his old squad member, he added, "I'll be back after Orianna. We need to talk." He ended with a slightly comforting smile, or at least an attempt._ She's a freaking mobster now. Yes, hello, that was all nice and dandy, but network? She immediately goes to eliminating the assasin? She's playing with a lot of fire..._ Garrus heard him with his acute hearing, but kept his mandibles shut.

Liara blinked rapidly at the stern voice he used, but did not seem fazed. "I'll be looking for Krios until then. Good luck, Shepard."

As the group descended the stairs, en route to the transportation hub, Shepard placed his hand on Miranda's shoulder. She stopped, as the rest of the group continued ahead. Quietly, he said, "Follow my lead, and keep your head calm. I promise you we'll save your sister. Don't do anything rash, not when your sister's the risk."

In a near whisper, she replied, "I.. understand Shepard."

He smiled at her, striding back to the rest of the squad along with her. Illium was a rather expansive colony, and Nos Astra was an extremely large community. The ride to the Eclipse transmission would take around an hour, even with modern transportation systems.

As Shepard had left the Normandy, EDI informed the engineering crew the team who had left and their location on Nos Astra.

"I wanna get out of this ship. I've never seen an asari colony before!" Aj excitedly remarked while poking at his terminal.

Ken heard the rather loud remark, and wholeheartedly approved. "Ay, I need to get some fresh air. This haggard beside m-" He stopped when the female next to him met his eyes, hers able to melt a glacier. "I was just jokin' Gabby, hah, but solid ground sounds mighty refreshin'."

She rolled her eyes, then answered, "Maybe, where do you guys want to go?"

Aj said aloud, "EDI?"

"The Eternity lounge is described as an upper-class resteraunt, with a small bar, and dancers for entertainment." The friendly synthetic responded nearly instantaneously.

"Finally, maybe the blues know how to brew a decent pint!" Ken said enthusiastically.

Aj added, "Blue dancers too, don't forget that 'ye bloody vermin' " He mocked his accent with the last phrase.

Tali had been focusing on rebalancing something undoubtedly vital, when she heard his rather crude statement. "Excuse me?" She said slowly and threateningly. Continuing, "Asari dancers?"

Aj looked at her mischeivously, "Think they have any quarian dancers? Every race loves hips!" _That'd be one hell of a-_

"You bosh'tet! I'm going to use these 'oh so curvy' " She air quoted the word, terribly mimicking his voice. "hips and kick your ass!" She narrowed her eyes at him in scrutinization. "Besides, where are you talking about?" The quarian said defensively.

Chuckling, Aj responded, "You focus too much on your work. We're going to a bar!"

She was thinking for a moment, then began to wring her fingers. "I've only been to bars on business. Chora's Den and Flux... Neither was nice."

"Aww cmon Tali, we still need to go on a date!" Aj's voice perfectly showed his high enthusiasm. _A drink on a beautiful colony like this? How could I pass this up. Besides, some... older asari might know about Samara's dream._

She sighed at his youthful exhuberance, and couldn't resist his charm. _That bosh'tet always knows what to say. Maybe they'll have sterilizers..._ "Fine, we can go. Please tell me you're coming though Gabby." Again the puppy eyes were used, albeit a different species and gender as the target.

"You really think I'd let Ken go while I stay here and work? You're crazy!" Gaby happily answered. "Let's go!"

"Ay, it's too bad Shepard's so busy, this place is a real gem I tell ya!" Ken quipped. He shut down his terminal as Gabby followed suit. They both stared expectantly at the giant metalloid human and his quarian lover.

Aj looked at the two engineers with a hint of amusement. "EDI can you please get us the shuttle?"

"Of course, the commander will be landing in two minutes." EDI said.

Aj gazed over at miss Zorah, who was still rapildy picking at her own terminal. Loudly, he perused, "So...you never said no to quarian dancers?"

Ken snickered in the corner, and unfortunately, both males were physically assaulted by their companions. Tali finally turned off her workstation, and gave Aj a strange look. _I swear if she had eyebrows, one would be raised right now. Huh, are humans really that hairy?_

Tali crossed her arms, and snidely remarked, "You know, I'm chief engineer. I think there's plenty of things what need to be recalibrated while Ken, Gabby, and I have a drink. Don't you think?"

_Oh, she wants to play that game? _Grinning, he failed at feigning disappointment "Damnit, so only male dancers? Maybe I can spar with Grunt too?"

Tali walked close enough to where she was barely touching him. She had to look up to connect with his eyes. "You're lucky I'm your bondmate" She said in an amused tone.

He cupped her chin, keeping her eyes on his. Softly, all he responded with was "I know."

They quietly stared into each others eyes, both showing their deep and undying love for each other. Tali's suddenly narrowed, and she shook her head giggling. "You always sweet talk your way out of your punishment, you know that?"

"You'd have killed me by now if I couldn't!" He answered smirking.

"You fre'eg, not kill you. Maybe seal your mouth shut though." She added equally smirking. though hidden to all but the most obervant.

The four began to small talk for a while until EDI suddenly chimed, "Shepard asked any crew member who wishes to go planetside must be prepared to evac in five minutes." Ken rather audibly groaned his displeasure, while Gabby smirked at him.

Aj and Tali went upstairs and grabbed their weapons. Neither of them was stupid enough to walk around without them. The ride down was relatively quiet, as Tali leaned against her lifemate in the shuttle, and he gently caressed her arm. Ken and Gabby were discussing why Garrus requested a 8% power draw increase to his Thanix. Turians and weapons usually got along quite well.

As they left the shuttle, they were met with an asari with two security mechs. When she saw them, her face instantly brightened to a smile. "Hello! Are you part of Shepard's crew?"

Aj looked at the four, and noticed he was leading the pack. As the impromptu leader, he answered, "Yeah, we're looking for the Eternity lounge if it's not a trouble."

The greeter opened her tool, and pulled up a holographic map. "We're here, and the lounge is just across this courtyard." She pointed at a nearby building on the map.

The directions seemed easy enough, "Thanks for the help ma'am." He said politely.

The asari pointed to another spot in between them and the courtyard. Glancing at Tali, she asked, "Liara T'soni wishes to speak with a quarian named Tali'Zorah. Is that you?"

She perked up at the news, eagerly grabbing Aj's hand and bouncing on her toes. "Yes, that's me." She then looked at a certain tall human, "We have to go see her first Aj!"

"You know I can hardly say no when you act all cute and bouncy like that." He said with a grin.

"Bosh'tet!" _Oh my... I haven't seen her in over a year! She visited the fleet once, but that was it. I hope she's okay._

The greeter heard how they acted, looked at their hands, and shook her head in astonishment. Keeping her professionalism, she nodded and motioned the group to follow her.

After a brief walk, including a right turn, she motioned to a set of stairs and informed, "Those lead to miss T'soni's office. Looking across the trading space, she added, "and those lead to the Eternity lounge. Please, enjoy your stay." The greeter bowed slightly and began walking back towards the docking area.

Ken stated, "We'll keep the bar warm for ya kids!" Ken waved at the couple, grabbing Gabby's hand and striding towards the other stairs. _Damn Ken, you really need to lay off on the booze. Huh, and Garrus, and Shepard... are livers more efficient in space?_

Tali squeezed his hand, whispering, "Do you want me to let go..? I mean there's people and on Illium...well, I'm a qu-"

"You're my love. I don't care what anyone else thinks." Aj said with a frown. _What's the big deal, especially an asari colony. Damn visors plus other people's racism... according to recent Pilgrimage returnees..."_

Smiling, she tightened her grip, "Okay Aj."

In the short walk across the center to Liara's stairs, the couple received quite a few strange looks. Out of all the surprised looks, one in the corner smiled, an old matriarch by the bar. She walked back up to Eternity, and Aj focused back on the stairs ahead.

The asari at the top of the stairs gave them a similar smile as the greeter. Her eyes widened for a second as she saw the intertwined hands, but like the rest, she didn't say anything. _One of the few common sense things about asari reproduction, it makes them more tolerant to the whole interspecies thing. As for these smiles... probaly a tourist colony._ He shook his thoughts reaching the top. "Hello ma'am, we're here to see Liara?"

Her smile faded as she looked into her terminal. "I'm sorry, but she's very busy. I can set you up with an appointment in... two weeks?"

Tali audibly sighed in disappointment, while Aj put his hand around her shoulders, pulling her close. She quickly leaned in, for the first time not caring if anyone was watching. Aj lovingly said, "Don't worry Tali, maybe next time we visit."

The receptionist interjected before she could voice her frustration. She was staring at Tali with a surprised, but true, smile. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya? Shepard's crew?"

Tali proudly answered, "It's actually vas Neema now. I completed my Pilgrimage."

The asari began typing into her terminal, and soon enough, the door infront of her unlocked. "She's been expecting you, sorry for the inconvenience." She seemed truly disdained at her behavior.

Aj smiled warmly at the lady, which seemed to alleviate her mood. _Maybe they aren't fake smiles like I thought? Shepard is a hero and all, though..._ "Not a problem ma'am, thanks for the help."

Taking a step towards the door, Tali quietly whispered, "Ma'am this and ma'am that, you're starting to sound like Reegar." They parted hands for no real reason.

"Bosh'tet!" He whispered back. Her eyes widened in confusion as he chuckled lightly. "See? Now I sound like you!"

Elbowing his side much like Gabby did to Ken, the door opened. A slight giggle was heard behind them, and the couple guessed perhaps they weren't as quiet as they had intended.

Tali froze in place as she saw Liara focused on her terminal ahead of her._ Oh...she doesn't know about Aj. Oh keelah no. _Her hands began to wring as they stepped through the doorway. The asari in question looked up at the two people in her office, and focused on the quarian. Quickly a large smile to her countenance. "Tali!"

Liara got up from her chair, and quickly embraced miss Zorah, who gratefully returned the gesture. "I'm very glad you made it." She released the petite quarian, and stuck out her hand towards AJ. "And you are...?"

He shook her hand, which was surprisingly a firm handshake. _Sneaky biotics..._ "I just go by Aj."

Liara smiled, "Okay Aj. Please, both of you, take a seat." She sat down at her desk and opened her omnitool, "Nyxeris stall my next appointment."

Aj and Tali looked at each other, and he shrugged his shoulders, taking a seat. She followed suit, and scooted her chair beside his. An act a very observant asari took notice of.

Liara looked at the two, and her smile grew. "So, Careena told me she saw a human/quarian couple by the docks." She glanced at Aj, then focused on miss Zorah, who was shocked and terribly nervous. Her fingers were on her lap, but were definitely not motionless. "I was wondering just who that might be, hmm?"

**Fre'eg:** Curse word. Literal translation: Clinging waste. In old earth english, a dingleberry.


	38. The Blue Planet pt 2

Before Tali could reply, Aj interjected with frustration, "Why does everyone make a big deal about it?"

Liara seemed partially shocked at his directness, but maintained her composure. "I have never heard of a quarian... being with a human, or any other species honestly, and I'm one of the most well informed brokers out there... Some flings happen, but they always return to the fleet. Even the exiles find another exiled quarian." She did not want to use the word bond in case it was a new relationship.

Impressed, but for some reason not surprised, Tali quietly said, "Aj is a part of the fleet."

Liara's eyes widened, "Really? You're just full of surprises today!" She shuffled in her desk. "So, I have to ask, since you're my friend Tali, and well, I know I haven't had time to visit the fleet..." She looked down at her hands for a moment with a hint of regret, but looked back up. "I don't know how to ask my question."

Tali grabbed Aj's hand and smiled at Liara, the small semblance of her old self was out. "Yes, Liara? I understand, and visiting the fleet is no small task, I'm just glad you came once."

Returning the smile she assumed from her silver eye dots, Liara answered in a near whisper, "How serious are you two?"

Tali looked at Aj, who just snorted his amusement. "What are you looking at me for bosh'tet? Ladies first." He smirked at her. Liara was rather amused by a human use of a distinctively quarian insult. "If I try to throw in a hip joke, you'll just hit me. Again."

Tali couldn't help but giggle, and actually heard Liara let one small sound escape her lips as well. She had to resist swatting at him, yet again, and regained her composure. Liara looked at her expectantly, with a warm smile. "We're... well, bonded."

The asari information broker gasped. "You mean..." She looked at Aj, then back at her, repeating the process a few times.

Tali shook her head yes, and Aj had a broad smile. He snidely quipped with a fake sadness, "What it means is my wife will never cook for me."

Faster than either of the interspecies couple could react, Liara swooped out of her desk, literally lifting a certain quarian off the ground. "Congratulations Tali! I'm so happy for you!" She kept the woman airborne for a few more seconds before releasing her. She then looked at Aj. "You'd better take good care of her."

He grinned at her, wrapping one arm around Tali's shoulders, in which she did the same to his waist.

Before he could answer, a very loud beeping came from Liara's console. "My office scanner?" She frowned, and walked over to her desk. When she sat down, her eyes widened immensely in fear, and she looked back up at the couple. "Impossible!"

"What?" Both Tali and Aj said it simoultaneously, giving each other a strange look before refocusing on the worried blue woman.

"You're... older than me? But you're a human?" She got up with an extremely worried expression, and had her omnitool activated. She scanned him, and gasped extremely loudly.

_Oh just fucking great, this again._ "Yes, I'm part synthetic. Happy?" He decided to test his luck, and closed his eyes. Doing his best, he focused on Liara's omnitool.

"But, how? And.. Tali?" She was about to await an answer, but noticed her omnitool was being... accessed! "What are you doing!?" She was staring at the giant human in front of her, sporadically sparking from his right wrist

Aj relaxed, feeling himself accessing her omnitool. He could sense thousands of caches of data, but that was not his goal. Instead, he tried something new. _Upload medical scans, self. Upload...upload archived data, cache A-2040, limit non-restricted Alliance data._

Liara was about to activate her tool's emergency shutdown function, but was stopped. A three fingered hand grabbed her wrist, and she made eye contact with her quarian friend. Looking down, she noticed she was receiving information, and quickly checked her tool's outflow. Zero data accessed? She calmed down, but kept a close eye on both him and the tool. His eyes opened soon thereafter.

"See for yourself, miss information broker. I'm a freak, not even of nature, but of human... innovation." Aj ended on a depressed note, which his lover noticed. _A freaking cyborg...I'd almost forgotten I'm not even a real human aymore._ Liara quickly began to peruse the data.

Tali got up, and gingerly sat on his lap. "You're not a freak Aj, you're just a primate. And more importantly, you're my primate."

"And I always will be love." He smirked at his bondmate and poked her sides a few times, causing Tali to squirm in excited tickles.

"Hey! That's cheating!" She wrestled around a little more before jumping out of his lap. Both had forgotten the asari who's office they were in, but thankfully Liara was thoroughly engrossed in the data.

"This is a very extensive... upgrade." Liara said to both. Tali blushed slightly at their 'flirty' behavior, but resisted the urge to wring her fingers. Instead she gripped one of his and sat back down...with a much warmer face. She paused for a moment, pondering the scans before her. "How are you so old, I mean for a human?"

"Stasis, I was floating in space for over a century. Luckily, a certain observant quarian scouting party..." He nudged Tali, and continued, "discovered me, woke me up, and wham bam shzaam. Here I am."

"Wow..." Liara was speechless, ignoring his odd word choice, while her archaeological mind went into overdrive. "But, how did you get these implants? I've never heard of any species successfully integrating anything beyond skin protection... but you...goddess..."

"Humans are extremely curious, and apparently, are willing to conduct these... experiments...on their own children." He sighed at the end, which Tali responded to by grabbing his hand. Aj looked at their tangled hands, and whispered, "I don't really want to talk about it please."

Liara looked at her scans, then back at him. She was content that he was not a robot, at least. And well, if Tali can trust him... "I'm sorry... I just let my curiosity take over. I didn't mean to intrude." She gave the couple a moment before continuing. "Damnit, I'm sorry again, but I have an appointment, and I'm already late. Please, come by before you leave if you get the chance. Maybe we can have a less... stressful meeting. I haven't had much time to see my old friends... and their bondmates." She said the last word carefully, as it was extremely powerful to quarians, and was pleasantly surprised when neither Tali nor Aj reacted disapprovingly.

The couple got up, and Tali walked over to her friend. She energetically embraced the young asari, smiling. "We'll try Liara, I can promise you that."

"It was nice to meet you, doctor." Aj stuck out his hand. Liara looked at it and smirked, brushing past it and embracing the imposing figure. He looked at Tali, shrugged his shoulders lightly, and returned her hug.

She released the embrace, looking up and smiling. "Any friend of Tali's is a friend of mine. I never expected to meet her with a human bondmate, but I am pleasantly surprised. I meant it before, though. Be good to her."

"Don't worry blue, I'll make sure she's happy and safe !" He responded excitedly. Tali cheerfully hopped by him; he instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her close. She never seemed to mind when he did that.

"Blue?" She said putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow.

Aj shrugged his left shoulder, as his right was occupied by an environmentally sealed helmet. "Pretty self explanatory honestly."_ Would she prefer aquamarine? Hah!_

"Do you want her to start calling you 'theg' like Fia did nonstop?" Tali quipped jokingly.

Liara looked at her with a puzzled expression, but slowly formed into a smirk. "I think I get it, like a geth, but backwards... sort of." She noticed the parting words had taken a rather long time. "Sorry to be rude, but I need to invite my appointment in before she cancels."

"See you later!" Tali ended happily. The couple smiled at her one last time, and left her office hand in hand. Liara's smile followed the two until the group left. With a sigh, she went back from her old giddy self to her job as a ruthless information broker.

Tali and Aj walked down the stairs with a positive gait. Gliding through the marketplace crowd, neither seemed to pay any attention to the renewed looks they were receiving. It was time to get some rest and relaxation.

"I don't see why everyone is crazy about asari." Aj said through the noise.

"What do you mean?" Tali was well aware of the asari race's... renowned promiscuity, having partners throughout all species and genders.

"They just seem like average human women, with crests instead of hair and blue skin. Lavender is nicer." He grinned at his beloved partner, who chuckled lightly in approval.

After they walked up the two flights of stairs to the bar, they noticed a rather exhuberantly waving Ken motioning them over. Beside him, sat a grinning Gabby.

"About time ye lads came to, getcha a drink!" He said enthusiastically.

Aj smirked and tugged Tali along towards the bar, where yet another asari was waiting behind the counter. She looked at the couple, "Can I get you anything? Sorry, no sex, just cleaned the counter."

Tali shifted uncomfortably at the woman's rather crude remark, but Aj took it in stride. Jokingly, he said, "That's what they all say. Slam down a few shooters, and you'll be stripping on this 'clean' counter in no time."

A certain quarian was about to slap the piss out of him, but the bartender interjected, looking directly at. "Never get between a quarian and her lifemate, kid."

"Wha.. how did you know?!" Tali squeaked nervously.

The bartender smiled and snorted, waving her off. "I've been to Rannoch. Seen how you act around them. Was a nice place, fucking robots ruined it. One day you're a maiden carelessly dancing your ass off, the next you're a matriarch, stuck working in a bar, and suddenly nobody remembers what quarians looked like under their masks. Bit strange though with a human."

"You're far from the first to say that." Aj said nonchalantly. _Why the hell is everyone going crazy over this, damn. Is it really that big of a deal?_

Tali quietly added, "And you're the second asari I've met who's seen my homeworld...when I have not."

The bartender looked at her, then disappeared under the booth. She whipped out a strange container, then followed suit with two strange bottles of liquid. She opened the odd container, and poured what looked like rough fractional guestimates of the liquids. Finishing with a strange dash of a white powder, she closed the container and thoroughly shook it.

"Here you go toots. Nothing like it used to be, but pretty damn close." She handed the container to Tali, who cradled it gently. The bartender reached down and pulled out a strange tube-like straw. "Don't worry, the decon container still works. Just used that puppy last week." She pointed at the two engineers they had planned to sit with. "Those two knuckleheads told me you're Shepards crew. The famous Tali'Zorah, bonded with a human, huh. Drinks on the house."

Startled, Tali courteously but nervously said, "They...told..you? Oh keelah...Thanks, miss... uh, matriarch...?"

The bartender guffawed at her attempt at respectfullness. "It's not that hard to tell, just looking at you two for a few seconds gave it away. By the way, just call me Aethyta. What about you?" She looked at Aj, who was leaning against the counter perusing the products.

He jumped, slightly startled, and cautiously asked, "You got any rum?"

The matriarch looked at him quizically, and began perusing her wares. "Human rum's made out of some rod looking thing, right?" When Aj nodded his head in excitement, she reluctantly revealed, "Sorry babe, that stuff's a bit hard to find. We've got an asari spirit, pretty similar profile."

"As long as it's got alcohol, I guess." He said only minisculely dejected. _Beggars can't be chosers, especially when it's free alcohol! _She poured him a straight glass, on the rocks, which surprised him. He was glad nonetheless, but did not know how she knew that's how he took his drink.

Aethyna finished with, "Need anything else I'll be here. Just don't eat the nuts on the table, they'll give us levo's cramps and the runs."

The couple nodded in understanding, and made way -drinks in hand- towards their waiting friends. Gabby seemed glad they were both on their way over, as Ken was chatting with... a quarian woman?

"See, here they are right now!" The scotsman said exhuberantly.

The new quarian glanced up at the couple, who sat across from the triage. They placed their drinks on the table as Gabby began to speak. "Right after you guys left, this asari came with this girl." She pointed at a lone asari in the corner, on a call at that moment. "They were just standing there, and when we told her we were ship engineers, she came over to chat!"

The quarian nervously looked at the group, then focused on Tali. "Hello! I'm Kina'Tavura nar Sciliato. It is good to see a fleet sister even here on Illium."

Tali smiled, as she knew another quarian could tell. Tali herself could tell she was on her Pilgrimage, as her suit looked the part, that and the name of course. "I agree, we aren't very welcome here, unfortunately..." After a momentary pause of disappointment, she switched backed to a happy tone, "I'm Tali'Zorah vas Neema, and thi-"

Kina interrupted with a gasp. "The Tali'Zorah? The savior of the Citadel? Oh keelah!"

Miss Zorah blushed furiously, wringing her hands under the table. Aj chuckled and pulled her close. "The one and only!" He took a gulp from his drink, pleasantly surprised by its smooth and sweet profile.

Kina squirmed a little in her seat, closely inspecting her fellow quarian. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you, and not even on the fleet! But uh... these humans..." She motioned at Ken and Gabby, both of whom were grinning, "told me you were uh..." She began to wring her hands much like Tali.

"Going all primate on us ay?" Ken added, earning a huff of disapproval from his girlfriend.

Aj noticed her hand gesture, and snickered loudly. As four luminescent and four human eyes focused on him, he pointed at Kina's hands. As if on cue, they sped up._ So, it's not just a Tali-specific little quirk? Huh, quirky quarians, has a nice ring to it._ "You quarians and your bumbling nervousness. It's definitely pretty funny stuff." He noticed how she seemed to tense up. _I don't think they know much about teasing, forgot about that. Took days for Tali to understand it, now she's a freaking star at it. What was the thing she taught me? _He quickly added. "Oh uh, sorry. I'm Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema. Is there any aid you require from us?"

The guest seemed a bit surprised to say the least. She formally answered, "No, but I thank you for your concern." After a brief pause, she quietly continued, "You're a human, and you say you're part of the fleet. And..." She took a deep breath, "These others said you bonded to one of us? A human with a quarian?" She exchanged worried looks at Aj and Tali.

"Third damn time, great. Everyone on Illium's going nuts about us." Aj stated in slight annoyance. He switched to a smile, and looked right at Kina's eyes. "That is absolutely correct. I am requesting the ceremony when we return from our mission."

Tali also answered with, "He is my lifemate, Kina. It does not matter that he is a different species." Saying it out loud, she couldn't help but smile. She truly meant what she said.

"It's so cute seeing three fingers wrapped around five!" Gabby said excitedly. Ken chuckled in preparation for another outburst, but Gabby's elbow had other plans. He wheezed in agreement.

Kina had been dumbstruck with new information. She nervously responded, "I... I don't know what do say. If he's truly your lifemate..." She shook her head, and seemed to gain a new, inner confidence. "I do not doubt your decisions, I'm glad you found your soul's half. May the Ancestors look kindly upon you and your future." She paused for a moment, before giggling. "It must be strange getting all those digits" She motioned towards Aj's hand, "around the proper three."

Ken groaned, surprising the group. "Not that again. Those two argue about bloody finger numbers every day, I swear." Gabby nodded in approval, surprisingly, and laughed right afterwards along with Ken.

Gabby looked over at Kina expectantly, quirking her eyebrow. The quarian had no clue what such a strange gesture meant. After a brief,and awkward pause, Gabby sighed. "You're not going to tell them your little problem?"

Kina's fingers again began to squirm again, and Tali perused her nervous bretheren. "What's wrong Kina?"

She fidgeted a while longer, before pointing at the asari from before. "She owns my contract, I cannot return to the fleet until it is complete."

"What kind of contract?" Aj asked inquisitively.

"Well, I'm an uh... indentured servant." Kina replied bashfully.

"A slave?" Aj growled. _They have slaves, even in this 'advanced' society? What the hell is wrong with people._

Kina shook her head. "I had to bring back a Pilgrimage gift, and well..." She paused, glancing around for invisible support. She continued with an easily noticeable anger "I sent back data to the fleet to improve our shields, data I created by myself. The captain of the Rayya has already even offered me a ship to return to. The Rayya!" She reiterated the ship's name in excitement, as the liveships were some of the most sought after by returnees. Returning to her near growl, she said "But I was hired by Synthetic Insights at the time, and they claimed a contract breach." With a reclused tone, she finished, "Obviously... they won, I couldn't hire a lawyer, and technically they were right, the bosh'tets... I have to work three years as a servant, but nobody will hire me to even start..."

Aj asked, "Can you pay off your contract?" Tali looked at her lifemate with a small smile.

Kina looked up, and then accessed her omnitool. "Yes, but it would cost 10,000 per year, so 30,000 credits." She sadly looked over at her asari overseer.

Aj looked over at Tali, who was already sending over some of her credits. He got up quickly. "Kina, let's talk to her and see what we can come up with."

The young quarian slowly got up, expecting yet another failed negotiation. She weakly trailed the tall human's long gait. Tali easily caught up, walking right beside him. Ken and Gabby followed, but couldn't match the three's speed.

They approached the asari, who seemed fixated on her omnitool. "Excuse me miss?" Aj asked as politely as possible.

The lady quickly turned to attention, then looked at the two quarians. She smiled at recognizing one of them. With a 'pep-in-her-step' the blue slave trader asked, "Hello sir, are you interested in miss Tavura's services?"

"Yes, actually." He paused, scratching his chin. _Hmm, okay, so ask questions and act uninterested, right?_ "What are the options?"

"Yeah jus' what we need Aj, another bossy bucket head." Ken interrupted sarcastically.

Kina stared at the human for a second, then hung her head and slumped her shoulders. Tali easily recognized the emotion...shame. She put her hand on her fellow quarian's shoulder, who turned and faced her. "He's just being a bosh'tet Kina, it's a human thing." Tali turned to Ken, cocking her hips and resting her other hand on the curves."As for you, enjoy your drinks, because you're going to feel like a slave after your next shift's done."

The man stared, shocked at the authoritative dextro, who seemed to be completely serious. She was... The slaver was in disbelief as well, at the obvious... insubordination?, but did not comment. Aj grinned at his wife, gently taking Tali's 'hipped' hand into his.

The asari's eyes widened immensely at the gesture, as Gabby broke the silence. "Serves you right Ken! Picking on the poor young girl."

Aj turned to the slaver, who was staring at their interlocked hands. He felt hers tighten arond his. "Can we get back to business or do you have something to say about...us?"

She jumped a little in surprise. "What? Oh yes, sorry." The asari frowned slightly, double checking her omnitool. "Her contract is for three years at subsistence pay." But she energetically countered her own displeasure, "She is an excellent technician and mechanic. Many quarians are, as you're well aware I'm sure." She glanced at Tali a moment.

_Racist bitch...like your species is perfect, more like all damn philosophers. _Aj tensed, and he noticed Tali did as well. Containing his anger, he perused, "What restrictions do you have?"

Her smug smile changed to a stoic business face. "The contract obliges the holder to care for the indentured servant's health and well-being as outlined by the Illium Trade Bureau. She cannot be released outside of service until her tenure is complete."

Aj perused further, "Can she serve outside of Illium?"

She diplomatically answered, "Illium's laws and contracts are respected throughout asari and Citadel space."

"So, I can hire her for a ship? Any ship I want, including one on the flotilla?" He continued, prying for that one answer she seemed to keep avoiding.

The asari sighed, looking at him, then at the two quarians. She could not help but glance again at the strange mingling of digits between the two. "Listen human, I know what you're trying to do. She's worth 30,000 credits you know." She was trying to see if this was a customer or one of those annoying protesters again.

"Then let's get this ball rolling, shall we?" He lifted his tool with a smile, much to the surprise of the asari.

After recollecting her thoughts, the asari quickly lifted her tool. "Please state your full name."

Aj calmly responded, "Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema." Kina blinked in realization, as did Ken and Gabby. Neither of the two Cerberus engineers knew he was an official member.

The slave dealer scowled lightly at him, waiting for the joke that never came. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she continued, "Very well. Transfer the credits, and you will receive Kina'Tavura for the duration stated earlier."

Tali had a huge smile until then._ Did he...no...did we...just buy ...a quarian? Oh keelah..._

He transfered the credits as she did the contract. Smiling, the asari happily said, "Thank you for your custom, enjoy your day." She bowed lightly and walked off.

Aj glanced over at the two female quarians. _I'll never get tired of seeing that. _Tali stood motionless besides her rapidly squirming fingers. Kina was doing much the same, but for completely different reasons.


	39. The Blue Planet pt 3

Reread and added more detail to the battle! Review this and the 40th this weekend!

"Hey, one more and I've got a collection going on!" Aj said teasingly after the dealer was out of earshot.

Tali was thinking about what just happened, but snapped out of her mental lapse at his comment. In an amusingly bad 'threatening' voice, she quipped, "Do you need another lesson from Chiktikka?"

"I think that's a good idea, actually." Gabby added from behind. Ken shrugged his shoulders, and left back for the table. Interjecting his opinions on the matter might be detrimental to his health, he deduced, while alcohol was patiently waiting. Gabby smiled at the two, and followed her boyfriend. Kina nervously stayed behind, unsure what to do.

After a brief lapse to think, Aj crossed his arms and smirked at Tali. "I think I'm going to build one of those, teach it how to pinch certain areas. Might give me enough time to hide."

Tali huffed disapprovingly knowing exactly which posterior area he was referring to. She was about to think of her own wisecrack, but Kina interrupted. "Pinch? Why would you teach a drone to pinch her?"

Glancing at the other quarian, Aj's smirk only grew. "It's a bondmate thing."

"You're an idiot Aj." Tali groaned; she noticed Aj closed his eyes again, focusing. She glanced at Kina, who was still rather confused. "Humans are strange Kina, please, do not worry about it."

"Oh... well, okay." Kina replied hesitantly, but immediately thereafter, she squeaked in surprise and pointed at his sparking forearm. "What is he doing!?" Tali sighed lightly, waiting for her bondmate to finish and do the explaining himself. Kina did not enjoy the wait.

As soon as Tali finished her first remark, Aj tried to speak to a certain AI. The conversation took less than ten seconds, which was an eternity in direct conversation.

_"EDI?"_

Thankfully, his synthetic friend was able to respond rapidly. _"Yes Aj?"_

_"Where is the nearest space port? I need to get someone a ride to the Raheel-Leyya system."_

_"I have located a reputable docking area nearby which would provide the necessary transport. Would you like me to reserve a flight?"_

_"Absolutely! Thanks a lot EDI." _He paused before deciding to help another quarian. "_Can you request the transport to pick up one crate of cargo from the Normandy? I'd like to send my Avalanche with it."_

Another incredibly brief pause insued before she retorted, _"I will make the arrangements to pack and relocate the requested weapon. The transport should be available within ten minutes. All expenses have been covered."_

_"The expenses are covered?"_

_"Cerberus has ample enough resources to cover the transaction."_

_"Man EDI you're the best! I'll properly thank you later, but I've got business to take care of."_

_"No thanks are necessary, but I appreciate the sentiment. Disconnecting."_

He opened his eyes from his sixth sense, and was greeted by differing stares from two female quarians. The more familiar one looked impatient, but his... recent purchase, looked terrified. He chuckled, stating, "So Kina, are you ready for your first job?"

The way he said it, plus his glance at his bondmate afterwards gave Tali all the hinting she needed. The bosh'tet was up to something._ Keelah, humans and their surprises. I don't understand why they do that._

Quietly, Kina answered, "I am. But... what did you do?"

Aj scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, he haphazardly lied and responded, "I, uh...well it's an Alliance and fleet secret. Sorry."

She nodded in partial understanding, though she still seemed nervous. Aj motioned the women to follow him to the table. Once they arrived, Aj spoke to the two human engineers, "I hate to break it to you guys, but we've got to head out. Sorry for all this, didn't think I'd be so busy here in blueville. Don't get too toasted Ken, remember."

"Oi, you're worse than her." Ken thumbed over at Gabby, who smirked in response. "I know, I know. Have fun with your little harem." His female companion must have had a few drinks, for she chuckled right along side him with absolutely no violent outburst. _Wait... my harem? I don't think Ta-_

"WHAT?!" Kina yelped in surprise. Her visor's interface had translated the word moments later.

Tali nearly reacted the same way, but she knew humans. Or at least the strange conglomerate of primates she had become accustomed to. She grabbed the drink she had left on the table, and transferred the beverage into her suit's fluid storage unit. While doing so, she responded coolly, "Be ready to crawl around installing the shielding upgrades we've come up with, slave." Without another word, or second glance, Tali left to return the drinking device, leaving a flabberghasted human in her wake.

Ken looked to Aj for support; he was treated to a thorough laugh, and a quick skirting away. Kina looked at all three, completely lost in the conversation, and followed Aj out of the bar.

Tali walked to Aethyna, finally taking her first sip of the drink. She nearly gasped aloud at the flavor, which was like nothing she'd ever tasted before. One could compare it to a human strawberry daquiri, but more liquidy. She sipped it happily all the way to the old bartender.

"It's delicious! Thank you so much." She said excitedly as she arrived. The matriarch chuckled as she took back the decon unit.

"I'm glad you all haven't changed tastebuds." Aethyna looked over at Tali's human bondmate, who was standing beside another female quarian. "Looks like you're leaving, remember, you're always welcome here, don't worry about the kids out there."

Tali nodded appreciatively and headed towards Aj, already feeling the euphoria of the alcoholic beverage. He smirked as soon as she arrived, fully able to read her body language. He devilishly commented, "Will I have to carry you back to your room again my lovely alcoholic bondmate?" Even Kina snickered ever so slightly.

She dryly answered, "Oh be quiet bosh'tet, let's see what your evil little plan is."

Kina's small positive rebuttal quickly faded as she heard her fleet sister. They silently made their way down the stairs, and went through a door underneath Liara's office. Finally, she hesitantly asked, "Where are we going?"

Aj glanced at her, speeding up his pace. "It's a surprise!"

Quietly, the young quarian fumbled out, "Oh... I'm sorry... but, okay..."

Oddly, Tali chuckled slightly, increasing the poor pilgrim's nervousness and piquing her lover's curiosity. As they passed an extremly distraught salarian, she remarked, "Kina, humans are a strange bunch, trust me, I know. But, whenever they do surprises, usually it's a good thing."

"Usually." Aj added coyly, causing Kina's momentary tranquility to dissipate into an even more nervous state.

Tali glanced at Aj's smirk, then back at her worried comrade. For the first time, she thought she understood why they orchestrated the strange events.

The triage made their way up another short flight of stairs, and through a door. It revealed an open area, with shuttles lined up in the middle expanse. Tali grinned as she finally began to unravel Aj's little conspiracy.

Still silent, the group walked towards a lone asari standing by one of the shuttles. Once they came close, the blue woman glanced at the quarians, then focused on Aj. "Mr. Sanchez?" He nodded, so she continued, "We'll be traveling to the Raheel-Leyya system, I assume that's where the fleet is?" Again, he nodded. Kina perked up at the revelation, but did not interject. "And there's a crate of cargo to pick up on the Normandy?"

"Yup that's perfect, give me a minute please, and she'll be ready to depart." Aj answered cheerfully. The woman answered with a nod of her own, and climbed into the pilot's seat.

He looked at Kina, and was about to speak, but she beat him to the punch. "Do you need me to bring something to the fleet for you?"

Aj scratched his chin in mock thinking, and slyly responded, "Actually... yes." Tali turned to him, curious at what was going on.

Kina seemed to gain a new burst of energy, as even visiting the fleet would be a welcome change for her. She carefully questioned, "May I ask what I'm bringing?"

"First off, the package is for Kal'Reegar of the Migrant Fleet Marines. If you want, you've got my permission to study it after he receives it." Her inquiring espression was not fulfilled, as he dropped the subject. "The second and final thing is a little trickier. You see, my bondmate and I are busy on a mission. That leaves the fleet short a skilled technician" He glanced at Tali with a smirk, which earned him a smile. "and we both know the Rayya could use the assistance."

"I..." Kina stammered, but she trailed off.

Aj activated the 'real' omnitool interface to deter further confusion. He happily finished, "I am formally requesting you to serve your three years of service to me under the Rayya's captain. What you decide to do after that is up to you."

Tali leaned into him, radiantly smiling at the speechless quarian in front of them. Kina quietly mumbled, "You... you're letting me return to the fleet? Just like that?"

Aj grinned in contemplation. "Yeah, well, if you don't want to go somebody has to clean the Normandy's toilets, or even bett-"

She had wrung her hands for a moment, before loudly interrupting "Keelah no! I want to go... but... thirty thousand credits? Just.. to let me go home?"

"Money well spent!" He replied happily.

"You deserve to go home after your Pilgrimage, not stuch because of some bosh'tet lawyer." Tali added with just as much enthusiasm.

She glanced at the couple a few times, then focused on her feet. "I will repay yo-"

"I'll have none of that! Besides, Tali was just going to spend that upgrading her nerve stim program." He quipped lecherously.

Tali had a rather large grin, which quickly turned into a scowl. Before she could voice her objection, Kina answered... happily? "I... acquired something she may have a use for, then." The young quarian typed into her omnitool a few times, and sent a file over to Tali. She looked up at the two, and back at the shuttle, bouncing in excitement. "Thank you so much, both of you...Keelah se'lai." She jumped into the vehicle with a renewed vigor, ecstatic to go home years before she had believed.

As the shuttle departed, Tali asked, "So, what'd you need to send to the fleet from the Normandy?"

Aj smiled while responding, "I decided to part with my beloved snowball launcher. I've got a beam rifle and this" He patted the claymore sitting on his back, "new beauty. Plus, Kal seemed to love the thing, should help him out too."

"Maybe if he doesn't freeze the hull like you bosh'tets did last time. You can't just run away and expect no one to notice." Tali giggled at her own thoughts, then checked her cache of data. Her eyes widened soon, thereafter. Barely audibly she exclaimed, "Keelah..."

"Hey that was only once!" He chuckled, before her barely audible word. He glanced over to see her wide-eyed staring at her own omnitool. "What'd she give you?" Aj perused.

"Oh, uh, nothing!" The stunned quarian hastily closed her omnitool, and glanced up at him. He had his arms crossed and an infuriatingly knowing smirk. "Damnit."

Aj chuckled, "Let me guess, the human full edition?" _That'd be pretty damn awkw-_

Tali gasped in astonishment. "How did you know?!"_ Keelah when did this come out?_

"Oh shit... seriously?"Aj replied nervously while darkening a shade of red. Her stare, hand wringing, and silent treatment seemed to indicate a yes answer. After a couple of awkward seconds, he began to chuckle. "I'm surprised you aren't running back to the ship with a bottle of turian brandy."

Tali finally spoke up. "Bosh'tet no!" It's just..." She seemed to crush an imaginary leaf on the ground. She replied in a sultry whisper. "I won't need it soon." _Two can play at this game._

He felt his blush only darken, earning a giggle from a his now proud bondmate. "I'm glad you have faith in me over a program. But before I have to go on a clean room hunt, we need to get those parts for your upgrades." _And I thought I was excited for that, man. Nobody said quarian women were so... exhuberant._

She faked a disappointed whine, and remarked, "Fine, but I owe you something." Aj was treated to a rather powerful punch to his shoulder.

"Hey damn, what was that for?" Aj yelped rubbing his freshly wounded arm. _Should have worn my armor, geez she's got some power for such a tiny woman._

She giggled at her success, and then snidely responded, "Bringing up my nerve stim program, bosh'tet. But you're right, we do need to get those. Or are you going to buy another quarian, hmm?..." _This is fun!_

"Sure, why the heck not. Let's see if there's any on sale?" He sarcastically answered, waving her off.

"You probaly would, keelah." She facepalm...visored while grabbing his hand, tugging him to the market area. "Come on, downstairs has all the ship components."

That day, Aj learned another fun fact about Tali. Never bring her to a ship part warehouse, and for that matter, never let her be the negotiator.

The hour ride was extremely uneventful, except for a few snide remarks by the males onboard. Near the end of the trip, they were still not finished.

"Come on Shepard, we'll have plenty of time after this ."

"Fine, Citadel's next." He paused for a moment, scratching his chin with a smirk. "So Garrus, are you going to dress up? Slap a new coat of paint on that frill of yours?"

He scratched said frill in contemplation. "I could, but it's not like you humans know anything about turian clans."

"Oh, it'd look so cute with little pink bows on it!" Kasumi added excitedly. Miranda even had a light chuckle at the thought.

Garrus growled defensively, and scooted away from the grinning theif. Before he could add any rebuttal, Samara interjected. "I do not understand your crew's behavior, Shepard."

The entire group looked at her quizzically, while Shepard answered, "Why's that?"

"One moment, you behave like children. The next, you become some of the most disciplined warriors I have ever encountered." She answered without missing a beat.

Before he could counter, the shuttle sharply veered right. The Cerberus driver barked over the intercom, "Rockets incoming, hot drop 20m behind the designated spot, landing in five." The team instantly stood up, ready to disembark. In exactly five seconds, the shuttle hovered above a landing pad, and the squad jumped out.

"On my six everyone, assume hostilities." Shepard barked as they exited.

"Except Oriana, she looks like me." Miranda added.

The group said their respective understandings, and followed his lead. The door to exit the landing spot opened to an expansive cargo area. An Eclipse engineer jogged up with a rather cocky grin. "Enyala said you'd be co-"

Garrus had other plans, as the man's head exploded. Shepard gave him a strange grin, to which the turian just shrugged his shoulders. "You said assume hostilities." Miranda did not seem discouraged.

"Let's milk the next loud mouth for information though." Shepard replied still grinning. "EDI, run a search for someone named Enyala. Shepard out."

The group followed down the large passageway, and made a quick right turn. Seven troopers and two heavily shielded engineers were sprinting in their direction, likely hearing the sound of the gunshot.

Samara threw out a shockwave, knocking over four of the troopers while actually killinf one; Miranda overloaded an engineer's shields, then her Locust made short work of his cranium. Shepard slammed two other troopers into a wall, crushing both of them. Garrus plucked off the 'lucky' seventh. Samara and Kasumi rained Vindicator and Locust fire respectively, killing the three stunned members, while the rest of the four rained hell on the other engineer. To no ones surprise, he did not survive.

"Damn, these guys aren't giving her up without a fight. EDI any intel?" Shepard barked into the com.

"Her last outgoing signal location has been marked on your map." EDI replied.

"Understood." Shepard had barely enough time to cut the signal before Garrus's Viper sounded off.

"More incoming!" He yelled.

The same squad configuration was en route, albeit one short due to a turian's precise aim. Garrus aimed and took out another, with a thorough thoracic disarticulation; Shepard aimed his beam rifle, slicing off ones arm, then disintegrating him and a nearby member. Miranda overloaded an engineer and then obliterated him against the floor, while Samara skipped the overload, making up for it with an exceptionally powerful slam. Kasumi snuck behind them, allowing her to break ones neck, and shot another at point blank range in the rear of the skull, killing both. Shepard dissolved the final resistor effortlessly. The group began a light jog down through the cargo area.

"This seems to be a lot of resistance for a simple kidnapping." Kasumi stated to the group.

"I agree, they must be planning something. We have to hurry then!" Miranda added in a rare nervous slip.

They arrived at an area where crates were being rellocated in front of them, and they could faintly see an elevator behind. Behind the loading equipment, two more squads and an asari vanguard awaited them.

"Kasumi flank, rest, doubles now!" Shepard ordered. Garrus and Samara ran to the right side while Miranda and Shepard ran left. Garrus tossed an incendiary into a group from a rather far distance, turning three into ash, while Samara threw one face first into a crate at over 1000N, and shot two others directly in the chest. Shepard beamed two into a heated pulp, while Miranda decapitated two more with precise shots to the throat. Kasumi appeared behind an engineer, expertly thrusting her knife into his medulla oblangata.

The vanguard charged right at Miranda, and she was slammed into the wall. Samara threw a Reave at the asari, who narrowly dodged it. Shepard threw a rather powerful Warp, which connected, and drained most of her barriers. The vanguard aimed her shotgun at him, but suddenly was lifted high into the floor, and slammed headfirst into the floor. The last thing she would have seen is her hip bone touching her skull. Apparently, Miranda was okay.

Suddenly Samara yelled into the coms. "Miranda shockwave towards the middle!" Miranda quickly obliged, and the other three crew members were treated to a wonderful sight. Two extremely powerful shockwaves met at a roughly 45 degree angle, devastating anyone within range. Two engineers, and five troopers were pulverized, while Kasumi was sent flying backwards. Thankfully, she wasn't too close to the waves for serious damage. Garrus disconnected another trooper's chest with the rest of his body, while Shepard biotically pulled two, severing their bodies into chunks of disarticulated flesh in mid air.

"Watch it!" She squeaked in disapproval. Her slim figure immediately dissipated to invisibility, and the final engineer soon thereafter enjoyed a Locust round directly into his temple.

They regrouped, and everyone could see Miranda's normally calm demeanor contorted into a worried scowl. Everyone watched silently as she reached at the vanguard's bloody pulp of a corpse and pulled out her omnitool. Surprisingly, it was functioning. She interfaced it with the squads.

Immediately a voice was heard, a female asari by the sound. "Damnit Jasia answer me you bitch!"

"Enyala?" Miranda growled._ Damnit Miranda calm down, _Shepard nearly said aloud.

"Niket said you'd be here. You're too late." She snickered and cut the link.

"Double time it, into the elevator!" Shepard ordered loudly. The group quickly ran to the elevator, but noticed it was locked in transit up. Wordlessly Kasumi began hacking into it. Within five seconds, the elevator was en route back towards them.

When the elevator came down, three troopers were instantaneously blown apart by the five's fire. The group entered without even stalling to remove the enemy corpses. Kasumi programmed the elevator to go up to the same destined floor as fast as possible.

After a few seconds, Miranda punched the screen nearly breaking it. "Damnit why won't this thing go any faster?"

Shepard calmly stated, "We'll get to her Miranda, don't worry." _I've never seen her so worked up, we'd better get her sister damnit, she deserves her family at least... especially after what her father did to her. She needs to focus..._

"I know Shepard..." She trailed off and began pacing in the small space. The elevator

ride took another 20 seconds. It opened into a small corridor, which had another door at the far end. After the short walk, the second door opened, revealing...

"NIKET!" Miranda screamed as she locked eyes with the man.

"Miri?" He stammered in response. An asari holding a datapad looked at the two, then ran off. Unfortunately, another asari's shotgun decided against the matter, with one Carnage round into the spine.

Miranda seemed unfazed by the needless violence. Her voice came out angry, but had undertones of hurt. "How could you Niket? I trusted you..."

The man stiffened up. "You never told me you kidnapped Oriana from her family, Miri."

_Wait, what? Miranda kidnapped her? _Shepard interjected, looking right at Miranda. "You kidnapped her?"

"I had to rescue her from my father, he didn't want a daughter, Shepard. He wanted a dynasty, to replace me. I won't let him ruin my sister's life!" She claimed defensively.

"Rescue her? From a life of wealth and happiness?" Niket said exasperatedly.

"Bullshit, I've seen what he does, and why he does it." She scowled further, a terrifying sight. "How much did he pay you?" She barked angrily.

"He hasn't... yet. He doesn't know where she is." The man replied, sounding distraught. Shepard could hear the clear voice of regret. _I don't think this is by choice..._

Miranda stated calmly, lifting her pistol. "Looks like you're the only loose end Niket. I'm sorry, but this is-" She was stopped when Shepard grabbed her arm, facing the pistol upwards. He scowled at her, and she faced Niket again. The man hadn't even lifted a finger in defense.

Niket continued lowly, "I'm sorry Miranda, but I needed the money. I had nowhere else to turn. He offered me a great deal just to get her back."

She glared at him, glowing blue. "Get out of here Niket, I don't ever want to se-"

The asari behind him shot him in the back at point blank range, killing Miranda's old friend. "Done, now if you don't mind, I've got a b-"

Miranda's biotic potential rivaled an asari commando at the moment, "You'll pay for that bitch!" She used all of her might to throw the asari into a wall. Unfortunately, Enyala had used her biotics to cushin the blow. Around her, two vanguards, a couple engineers, and ten troopers stood in defiance.

The squads opened fire. Garrus charged a nearby engineer, overloading his shields, then shoving a military blade into his throat. Shepard beamed two closeby troopers, while Kasumi threw a flashbang into a group of five. Samara took out three with bursts to their once vital organs, while made short work of the two human targets' craniums. Miranda shot one more directly in the heart, but was more focused on charging Enyala.

"You really think you can beat me at my own game, girl?" The asari stated cockily. Her biotics flared a deep blue and she threw a shockwave at Miranda; the human narrowly dodged the wave, and then a warp, before sprinting towards her, engaging in biotically enhanced hand to hand combat with the asari.

A vanguard glowed blue, and ran towards Samara. The justicar seemed to effortlessly lift the other asari, slamming her into a crate, the cracking of her bones was a loud indicater of her finite mortality. Garrus shot down two more troopers via decapitation, while Shepard beamed another into another fantastic mess. Kasumi managed to break the engineers neck behind everyone. The final vanguard had snuck behind Garrus, but thankfully Shepard would have none of that. He warped the asari's shields, then beamed her right in the chest, creating a rather large whole were her heart used to be.

The squad glanced at the far end of the room, where Miranda was engaged with the leader. Sprinting towards her, it seemed a stalemate, until Enyala pulled a timely leg sweep on her, toppling the perfect woman to the ground. The asari seized the moment, continuing her success by powerfully throwing her into the wall. Miranda's biotics cushined only a fraction of the force; her body slumped to the ground, in obvious pain, as Enyala took out her shotgun.

_Holy shit, Miranda no! _Shepard watched in horror as she aimed it at her face at point blank range. He glared at the asari, screaming mentally to save his team mate, when suddenly, his vision became blue. It lasted only a split second, and he felt himself slam into something. When it faded, he was standing in front of Miranda, while the asari was slumped on the ground, against a different wall, in front of him. The large pool of blood indicated she was dead. _ What the fuck just happened?_

He put his thoughts aside as Miranda was still lying on the ground, eyes closed.


	40. The Blue Planet pt 4

The normally stoic or grinning commander's face was of pure worry. For a moment, he felt light headed, but the surge of adrenaline after seeing Miranda's limp form seemed to stabilize him. _NO damnit_ The commander hastily got on one knee beside her, omnitool scanning, as the crew ran up. _Holy shit... she's...she' fine... The omnitool scans are saying it's just some microfractures in her arm and shoulder... oh, and a pretty bad concussion, nothing Karin can't fix. _He half-heartedly chuckled, considering she was still injured. He briefly reflected on his actions just recently, and meandered to a strange conclusion._ Should I really trust a... Cerberus?_ _I mean, she really is changing for the better...Garrus called it the Shepard affect after he agreed to take Dr. Heart into custody...killed him anyway though. The Shepard effect? On the Cerberus second in command?_ He stalled mentally at the ramifications.

Kasumi and Samara arrived first on scene due to their proximity; both noticed how he was staring at the woman... almost...just almost..., affectionately? Garrus was not far behind, the turian equivalent of a confused expression upon his countenance.

"What the hell was that Shepard?" Garrus questioned while staring at the Cerberus officer's body. The commander shook his thoughts, his bliss returning back to hs commanding tone.

Shepard had a puzzled expression as he replied, "I...really don't know what happened." He refocused on his fallen team member. "We need to get her to the Normandy asap. It's nothing serious, but she needs to see Dr. Chakwas." Shepard finished stoically. He applied medigel just in case, and leaned her up against a wall. "EDI, shuttle at my location, now."

She answered instantly, "Understood commander." The synthetic was still...anxiously anticipating speaking with Samara about her de facto granted wisdom, having delayed it earlier due to the asari's meditation-prone schedule.

While Garrus was pondering the new power he had just witnessed, while Samara calmly pierced her eyes with the commanders."I may be able to elaborate on that technique, Shepard, if you truly do not know what you just accomplished." Samara said almost mystically.

Garrus looked at both of them even more puzzled, then back at Miranda. Shepard's friend seemed ready to interject, but never elaborated on the topic. He at least seemed satisfied that the situation was under control, and left to scavenge the nearby corpse of Enyala

Shepard began to relax, but was soon pacing near the downed woman thinking about the situation. Before his death, he would have angrily scoffed at anyone who said he had been extremely worried about a Cerberus operative's health. Bypassing her questionable employer, in the past few weeks, her attitude had profoundly changed. She was still a bitch, there was no doubt about it. However, her personality had finally begun to emerge, the small semblance left in her what wasn't just a Cerberus drone, but a real person. He finally focused his thoughts. _We need her for the mission, she's going to turn on me in the end, just how Cerberus works._

For the next couple seconds, his pacing continued as the others picked around at the more corpse laden areas of the scene. A few more seconds later, Kasumi soundlessly shimmered behind him while gently cradling a locket. Somewhat used to her antics, and unperturbed, Shepard stared at it as she elaborated, "I know it looks like something not worth our time.." She opened the small trinket revealing a joyous little scene. A undoubtedly romantic couple, an asari and a human male, were happily smiling at the viewer, their cheeks almost in contact. The photo flipped to another with the same couple, but holding a small white bundle with a blue head barely sticking out. "But the asari in the picture looks familar, and this is a Swao, it's got to be worth over 25,000 credits!" Shepard glanced at her in an almost fatherly disapproving tone. Her eyes never left the small trinket, however, as she continued, "I think I saw her near the market, crying on a bench." The woman glanced up at the commander oddly lacking her smile. "If I had one of these of Keiji, then lost it..." Kasumi trailed off, sadly looking at the locket.

"I know she'll be very grateful." He answered sincerely. Shepard's slight frown flashed into a grin, if only for a moment. "The great Kasumi Goto, master theif, and you're giving something valuable back you just found lying around? Maybe Garrus will start telling funny jokes soon." _Shepard effect?_

The small Asian woman crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow in questioning. "Hey just because I'm a theif doesn't mean I'm heartless like Grunt. He'd just try to eat the thing." She gently tossed the trinket in the air and caught it, then giggled as if imagening the krogan truly, and easily, accomplishing that feat. "Besides, the challenge is the fun part!"

Obviously pleased with her reasoning, Shepard answered her unspoken question. "Well I planned on shuttling to Liara's once Miranda's all set aboard the Normandy, but as long as you don't snoop around our meeting, you're welcome to join me." _Damn, I forgot about Liara... still, it was nice to see her, and she did help us out. Gotta see what she's been doing all this time._

Kasumi smirked in victory, placing the device into one of her suits surpringly abundant pockets. She began to walk away, but turned around sharply, smirking in a matter plausibly infuriating to some people. "Garrus was right, huh."

"What?" Shepard growled. Garrus was rather adept at telling whimsical fallacies.

"Oh, nothing." She placed her hands on her hips, content with his truthful denying reaction. The Japanese theif briefly pondered at who else 'the great Commander Shepard' could be interested in. She shimmered out of sight before Shepard could get his answer. He found out long before yelling at nothing only made him seem delirious.

The scene was quiet for a little longer. He glanced back at Miranda, then at the rest of the squad. Garrus had finished scavenging the pile once amounting to Enyala, and shook his head in bewilderment. As his eyes shifted back to Miranda, the Cerberus cheerleader's eyes flared to attention. She instintively got up as quick as possible, assuming a defensive position, albeit weaponless. Before anyone could comment, the quick movement coupled by her cranial trauma caused her to become extremely light headed, toppling over backwards. Miranda fell, but thankfully her head did not impact the ground as Kasumi appeared and barely caught her, slowly lowering her. She was trying her best to get up, but kept leaning towards the side opposite her impact.

Shepard jumped up and ran towards Kasumi, who was now being pushed away by Miranda. She squeaked at the biotic woman to calm down, but it had no effect. Soon though, the operative became a mostly dead weight, and slumped to the ground, shoulders still supported by the struggling theif. Miranda was still trying to wrestle her arms free for no real reason.

As Kasumi leaned her back against the wall, Shepard knelt beside her. The woman's head was turning occasionally facing left or right, and Shepard clearly noticed her face looked extremely worried.

"Miranda, relax. You're going to be fine." Shepard stated calmly.

She seemed to do as he said, to a great extent. Without even answering, she fell into a deep, restful sleep. Shepard quickly scanned her for reassurance, and was thoroughly pleased to see the medigel had completely stopped the minor swelling, and even healed a few microfractures.

Shepard had been hovering over the woman, and noticed Kasumi hadn't left. He glanced up and was rewarded with one of her infamous 'knowing' smirks. The way she pranced away indicated one thing: she had something new to talk about. He looked around, then at Miranda, then back at her, then again the cheerleader. _You've got to be kidding me... she's last on the list... I'm pretty sure at least. She's a Cerberus..._ The few times he had found himself staring at her stunning figure, he always reminded himself of her afficiliations, effectively silencing his desires_._ In spite of that, he was rather sure the next time aboard the Normandy would involve defending himself against a certain energetic and petite theif, the expert at prying.

"Keelah! You think this is worth 500 credits?!" Tali remarked exasperatedly. She was holding what appeared to be a capacitor booster.

"It is one of our finer models." The store clerk asari calmly stated.

" 'Finer models' ?" Tali mocked overexaggerating her displeasure. "We've got the same readouts from the Rayya! Do you really think a quarian doesn't kn-"

"Alright!" The asari behind the counter already had enough; after seeing her verbally demolish a nearby volus shopkeep, she knew this quarian meant business. She impatiently conceded, "Fine, I'll go no lower than 250 credits. Transfer the money and we'll send one to your ship."

The young quarian happily handed her back the display model, then transfered the amount, to which the asari seemed pleased. Whether it was for the money or to remove the quarian would remain unknown.

Aj chuckled after watching his lovers excited expression, walking over to a nearby bench and sitting down. _Two hours of shopping with Tali is like ten with any other woman. _He smirked again recollecting her previous response while they were at a particularly large warehouse. He was whining about her needing to slow down, as he felt like he was at a brisk jog the entire time. She merely stopped, and eyed him up. 'Look who's laughing about hips now, bosh'tet.', She had replied cockily and ending in a giggle, and continued at what seemed a faster pace. Groaning, he was forced to literally jog, catching strange glances from many asari.

As she finally closed in on her last piece of equipment, only limited by their freshly quarian-depleted funds, he found himself staring at Illium's late afternoon sky. Relaxed by the beautiful purple and yellow crescendo burning far away, he realized this was his first sunset on another planet where he could actually sit back and relax. His recent act of generosity towards a quarian marine, however, required attention, so he closed his eyes in thought. For the second time today, he contacted a friend. _"Hey EDI, can you request Admiral Hackett, at earliest convenience. Since it's important, and we're on Illium, I was hoping you'd be able to make sure its secure."_

_"Of course Aj. It has been sent, and I can maintain a discrete data connection. Report from Alliance Command: Request received. Transfering Alliance command directly to you, EDI out."_ The synthetic's presence was removed, and another smaller data feed replaced it; the image of a military officer with a headset replaced the blackness of closed eyes, he stiffened up immediately. At this moment, he was talking to the human military directly through his mind.

He figured telling his recent life's story had lost its luster, and human-tailored his approach. Even attempting to describe the innately strange sense of two simoultaneous thought processes_, _due to maintaining the connection, would be an understatement. _"Hello, this is Mr. Sanchez with the Neema. Please just tell him 6-222A diplomacy, thanks."_

The man answering the call, however, was having none of this diversion bullshit. He seemed to check the channels security before he spoke. The sound was as crystalline as an unabated mouth directly over one's ear. "Is your diplomatic status under scrutiny?"

"_Wait, what? I'm an ambassador now? Since when?" Aj thought incredulously._

The human looking back at him gave Aj a strange frown. The semisynthetic human was thankful the video feed was only one way. "You're Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema of the Quarian Flotilla, correct? You're listed as a human onboard their fleet."

"_Damn, that sure beats the normal hailstorm of questions."_ He mostly thought to himself, but that word had no real meaning in this specific moment in time, and the communicator actually chuckled.

"I can imagine. But in all honesty Major..." The man seemed unconcerned for his lack of any current legal affiliations with the Alliance. "You're doing humanity a great service. Militarily, we are only in an Alliance with the turians. A second race on our side would further secure us from any possible batarian incursion." The man's stoic expression dropped into a scowl at the other race mentioned. Before he could continue, his eyes darted towards the screen. "Connecting to Admiral Hackett now."

The communicator fizzled out of view, and was replaced with a seated figure; he was the aged leader of the majority of humanity's fleets. With a nod, the man kept his usual unreadable expression as he questioned. "What are you communicating with? The signature doesn't resemble that of any species we've encountered."

_"Well you see, I'm actually thinking these words. I'm using my synthetic parts to articulate my thoughts into a transmittable signal." He thought nervously, which must have shown on the receiving end._

The Admiral just stared at the terminal for a moment, before replying. "Understood. I assume you were referring to the M-622 Avalanche?"

_"Yes sir, I have data regarding regarding its testing I can send you. I apologize for not sending it sooner." Without warning, an influx of data seemed to 'appear' at the back of his head, causing a slight pain, but within standards. He focused it into the screen, and was baffled at the results. He had quickly processed the footage of himself shooting the mech, cutting prior to his tackle, and the other of himself and Grunt effectively decapitating the Tuchanka thresher maw, cropped oddly omitting Shepard from view, and lastly, Gatanog Uvenk's partial crystallization. Aj noticed the aged Admiral was still reviewing the footage, likely having just received it._

Nearing the end of the 20 second showing, Aj felt a small hand slip into his and squeeze. He tightened the grip, lifting his index finger as if asking for time. He felt her hand then escape his, and soon after, a small weight on his shoulder, likely her head resting in wait.

The Admiral looked up from the vid screen. "The boys at R&D will appreciate this live testing, Mr. Sanchez. How does this affect your standing?"

_"It doesn't, but I fully believe the weapon is perfect for support roles. However, a squad leader for the Migrant Fleet Marines was very interested in the weapon, and I've loaned it to him for a trial run on his next mission." He let that statement hang._

For a few moments, the man scratched his chin in thought. The Admiral clasped his hands in front of him, elbows restin on the desk. "The prototype's engineers believe your model is too heavy for the average soldier to use at peak effectiveness. Also, it has limited short-ranged capabilities, combined with a slow rate of fire. If the Quarian Admiralty supports the weapons use, the Alliance would be willing to codevelop a more efficient version. "

_Aj felt himself freeze at the revelation, and sensed Tali tense up, likely noticing his change. "Y...yes Admiral. I will keep you updated."_

"Understood. Hackett out." The link cut right after, and he mentally cleared his mind. _Well, that was interesting... I wish Isa could see me now, the ambassador for humanity to another species..._ When he opened his eyes, before him were two worried silver dots.

"Keelah, that took forever!" She grabbed his hand. "Are you okay?" The genuine worry in her voice made him smile at his lover.

"I'm fine Tali, did you get your shopping done?" He perused with a smile.

Her silver orbs became silver slits, narrowed behind her visor. "Oh no you don't bosh'tet!" She ordered. Her three fingers clamped tightly around his, and she continued in a softer tone. "What were you doing?"

"Just had a quick chat with Admiral Hackett about the M-622 Avalanche." He stated nonchalantly. Noticing her inquiring stare hadn't left, he elaborated. "If Kal likes it, they'd be willing to codevelop a newer better model with the quarians. Humans aren't stupid, we know many members of the fleet are tech experts."

Tali's eyes widened at his new information. _No race has worked with quarian engineers in centuries..._She wasn't about to let this ruin the moment for her, though, and playfully responded. "That's great news Aj! But really, you gave it to Kal? What if that det kazuat freezes the hull again?" _Her mind jumped to the masterpiece humans had developed with the turians, the Normandy SR-1. Can we quarians do the same?_

Aj chuckled at the thought, and wrapped his arm around her. A few asari nearby gave him quick looks of surprise, but seemed to be more focused on their business. Their occasional glances did not diminish. "Well, at least they can't blame me while I'm on the Normandy, right?"

She giggled while leaning into him. "You never know with Gerrel running the ship, or even my father. Oh keelah..." Her eyes widened slightly, and she giggled again, looking right at his eyes. "I hope you're ready for his interrogations when you get back."

Aj chuckled, rustling her slightly in his arm. "So, another violent quarian with a shotgun? Fantastic!"

She swatted his chest lightly, but had no time to respond. Her omnitool flared to life, sparking the enginners attention. She opened it, then got up quickly. "Incoming transmission from Shepard."

Aj quickly jostled himself from the comfortably lazy slouch he had attained and sat straight up. Shepard's face soon appeared on Tali's omnitool.

"Tali, Aj. Miranda was injured on the mission, and is currently en route to Dr. Chakwas. She'll be okay at least." He sounded rather relieved to say the last part. "I'll be arriving approximately 15 minutes. That'll determine the time frame on our next mission, and I want you both on the next squad. For now though, Kasumi said she wanted to see with you two when she lands. We'll be at the docking bay, Shepard out."

"I hope the crew's ready to unload your treasure trove of components." Aj added sarcastically as they stood up.

She looked at him with a hand on her hip, grabbing his with her other. "You're going to help them bosh'tet, while I tell you all were to go." She looked at him expectantly.

He chuckled while squeezing her hand, again receiving more strange stares, but ignoring them thoroughly. He tugged her along towards the nearest docking bay. "I thought Ken was your slave now?"

She shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. "I'm creating a human harem now." She laughed at his rather amused but questioning look.

"We're creating a monster, great." Aj said facepalming with his free hand. Tali giggled in triumpth. "So, before you go all krogan on me, what exactly did you buy?"

The short couple of minute walk, and seven minute shuttle ride were filled to the brim and beyond with Tali's mechanical expertise elaborating and stressing exact requirements for every single purchased part. How she had spent all of 14, 650 of her credits, then undeniably begged him for 5,000 of his, was not nearly as surprising when she was complete.

"So why did you buy a rechargeable decontamination unit" Aj asked geniunely puzzled as they sat by a bench, waiting for Shepard. "I thought your suit had section seals for emergenies? Well it's better safe than sorry I guess."

Tali jumped at the beginning, but at least he didn't notice. "Yes, emergencies." Unfortunately, she trailed off slightly, then looked left at nothing in particular. When she refocused on Aj, he had a rather large perusive smile.

"Anything else on your mind miss Zorah?" He said smoothly. When her face darkened a shade, noticeable even behind her visor, he chuckled in success. Aj slowly traced his hand down her arm, ending with him gently holding one of her hands. "If that's on your mind, we could test it as soon as we get to the ship."

Tali gently traced a long finger down his cheek, then looked down at their hands. "Okay, but we need to set up the shield upgrade first. And no butts!"

"No butts? That's a bit hypocritical for you, isn't it?" His childish grin was rewarded by her arms crossing, again her imaginary eyebrow raised. _She's taking tips from Kasumi!_

"You know, it's up to me how long I keep this suit on." She said seductively, but threateningly, apparently a perfect combination for her. "You'd keep having to imagine what's underneath."

Aj chuckled and poked her side. "Yeah I know, they don't have quarian 'educational' vids on the extranet. But someeeebody's been looking up quite a few human ones. I distinctly remember a search, oh what was that, 'human mating customs', bet that was interesting. Boy its nice to have an AI buddy isn't it?" Her extremely shocked expression indicated otherwie.

Thankfully, a familiar Cerberus shuttle began to arrive, inside it a few members of the squad.


	41. The Blue Planet pt 5

_FYI: Illium may last approximately 8 chapters =) NOTE TO ALL READERS - Adding material to chapters 1-35ish due to I didn't fully clarify my thoughts -in my opinion- so enjoy :]!_

Aj smirked at Tali, wrapping one arm around her and pulling the rather dumbfounded quarian close. As she turned to face him, he could make out the shuttle high up in the sky. "I'll make sure not to disappoint, bosh'tet."

Tali clasped her hands together, but seemed to resist the normal wringing. _Actually... keelah, this is Illium! The colony is almost a thousand years old! I wonder if they have any... quarian rooms..._She looked at him with her normal disapproving look, and shook her head before leaning into his shoulder. The quarian happily whispered with an obvious hint of seductiveness, "Oh be quiet primate... but...I don't think... you'll disappoint me, Aj" Tali gently moved her hand over his chest, then looked back up." not...at all."

Aj couldn't help but blush, eliciting a giggle from miss Zorah. In his mind though, a sudden realization hit him. _She's starting to act like me now! I can't ever remember her being good at teasing on the fleet..._He then recalled his hand wringing earlier when he was nervous, and the just recent saying of 'bosh'tet'_. This bonding thing is really no joke, two people... one soul? _He jokingly remarked,"You know that's not fair. You enjoy doing that way too much."

Tali was rather proud of herself to say the least. She decided to let him off easy... for now. With a laugh, she quipped, "That's my way of repaying you for all those jokes, this time about my fingers, bosh'tet!" She finished it off with a victory showing of her said digits snapping in front of his face.

He playfully swatted away her hand, chuckling. "Congratulations Tali! That's the 100th time you've called me a bosh'tet since the Normandy! You deserve a medal or something!" He added with a huge smirk and truthfully. _Oh shit, speaking of bonding and medals... the ceremony bracelet! Almost forgot, but... how the heck am I getting away from Tali?_

She squirmed out of the arm wrapped, silver slits focused directly at him. "Keelah, you still act like a kid sometimes... actually, always. But you're still counting?" His freshly widened smirk seemed to indicate a yes. Tali carefully lifted herself from beside him, then sat in his lap gently. She nestled deeper into his arm, laughing and adding quietly, "You're just lucky you're my bondmate."

"Honestly, I don't know what I did to deserve you, I couldn't agree more." Aj said happily while staring into the burning sunset. He glanced at his arm for a moment, admiring the brief jolts of electricity when he focused, then at the dextro female contently snuggled against him; once again he was thankful for his second chance at life. A blissful moment of silent passed, Tali silently beaming at his short concuring statement. He gently began to stroke her free arm, ending by grabbing the three long fingers at the ending.

"I love you Aj." She whispered, looking back up to his eyes with a smile.

"I love you too, Tali." He answered, returning the endearing smile with his own. They again paused, attempting to convey their love through sight alone.

Tali looked down for a moment, sighing and glancing down at their grasped hands. "I wish we had more time like this, just us... together."

Aj glanced away for a moment before looking back excitedly. "He said the mission isn't until later, right?! Maybe, we can stay out as late as we want!" He was doing his absolute best to stop her from talking about-

"You lazy det kazuat, we still need to install the ship parts..." _This is probaly my only chance to be with him for a very long time... but...will Shepard mind the parts sitting there...oh keelah, should I?_

Dejectedly, he began, "Alrigh, alright..., we can star-"

Tali lifted her finger and softly placed it over his lips."Later." Aj watched as the shuttle finally landed behind Tali, but she hadn't noticed. His eyes instantly returned to the very convincing quarian on his lap. Lovingly and very softly, she explained, "There's never a chance for privacy on the fleet, or even on the Normandy...and...and I want to spend tonight with the man I love... you."

Aj tightened his grip on her hand, and noticed she did the same. _Well, I guess the boss says so! Hopefully Ken and Gabby won't mind the influx of parts!_ He chuckled, obviously pleased, "So, what does my little 'rebellious' lover want to?" _Please...no more shopping..._ His eyes widened in surprise as she spoke.

The normally shy quarian added in a sultry tone. "If you really want to stay... maybe...oh keelah... we could go look for..." She got up from his lap, facing away for a moment. When she turned around she nervously wrung her hands, while her voice remained excited, albeit shy, "maybe for..uh.. a... sterilized room?" She let the statement hang invitingly, but deep inside her heart was pounding rapidly.

Surprised was an understatement for Aj's current emotions at that moment. _Tonight? I, uh.. well... why not tonight? Illium might have that, who knows? _"Well if you-" Unfortunately he stopped himself, as the bulkhead near the docking terminal opened, revealing their commander. Thankfully Tali had gotten off his lap, or the situation might have been another unfortunate embarrassment. That did not stop her from jumping slightly at the sounds.

Shepard came out from the back, as did Samara, and... Zaeed who was talking to a grinning Grunt. As Aj got up to stand by his bondmate, the group focused in on the duo and made their way to them. After the short walk, Shepard finally spoke. "Liara sent me a message while we were traveling. Unfortunately, Nassana won't be arriving in Illium until tomorrow night."

Little did he know, Tali was absolutely thrilled at the short delay, while Aj froze. _So, this is it. If we can find a sterilized room... we'll... wow... I just hope it works... not some awkward fiasco... _Aj did his best to hide his nervousness, and seemed to succeed.

The commander paused briefly glancing at the same sunset Aj had been admiring earlier. He motioned over to Garrus, who had remained surprisingly free of hanus interjections. "We're going to check up on Liara for old time's sake." He turned to Grunt and Zaeed with a smirk, "Both of you, just don't kill anyone, or use explosives, and preferably be able to make it to the Normandy without help."

The krogan warrior just punched his hand into his other grinning devilishly, while Zaeed nodded returning a half-grin. The two began walking, with the last words heard pertaining to nefarious endeavors with asari dancers. Shepard scratched his chin in thought. _Glad to see everyone's getting along, even everyone's favorite blood raging krogan. Interspecies crew combined with a mercenary and a galactic theif, huh, feels like home. _Shepard then casually glanced over at the justicar.

Samara looked up at him, and flatly stated, "I will be shopping for supplies, but I will be available if you require my assistance."

Shepard smiled and nodded, watching the woman longer than normal as she briskly walked away. His little notion was unoticed, and Garrus finally interjected while he was on his brief mental lapse. "Tali, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us. We're going to get Wrex in a vid call, have ourselves a little reunion. But if you have plans, that's fine. Shepard announced the next 20 hours are shore leave."

Tali jumped happily at her newly acquired free time, getting a chuckle out of Aj. _20 hours! Keelah, almost a whole day with Aj! But... I really do want to talk with the old team..._She glanced up at her bondmate, then back at Garrus. "I'd love to come, it'll be nice to see everyone again. Me and this bosh'tet were going to explore Illium, but that can wait a little!" Her excited, almost child-like demeanor instantly brought a grin to the older turian's face.

He had glanced at the quarian gladly, then wandered over to Aj's eyes. "I'm sorry, it's, well..."

Aj interrupted seemingly unfazed, and waved them off. He had been anticipating the question since they'd mentioned a reunion. "No worries, you old people need your times to reminisce. Might be nice to have a drink without the threat of a shotgun looming by." His antics earned a quick elbow to the side from the three fingered female, and a chuckle from Shepard and Garrus.

After a brief pause, a certain theif shimmered to life beside Aj. Kasumi added with a rather large grin, "Perfect! Now I have a bodyguard!"

Surprisingly, not one crew member flinched at her sudden appearance. Aj quipped in mock indignation towards his captain, "So, now you expect me to keep a different crazy lady in line now?" He thumbed over to Kasumi, who instantly put her hands on her hips, clearly not as enthusiastic at his conclusion.

Thankfully, Shepard came to the rescue. He added with a smirk, "Think of the positives, less violence maybe?" Tali put her free hand on her hips similar to miss Goto, although her face actually had a smirk as well. She internally was feeling extremely possesive, but for some reason Kasumi never struck her as a man theif, at least.

Aj chuckled, "Touche, well, you guys have fun out there, I'll go snoop around as a bodyguard I guess." Kasumi smirked triumphantly, while Aj turned to his quarian, gently grabbing her other hand. "Don't worry, I'm always just a call away."

Tali looked at their hands, then back up at him. She began quietly, but ended with a noticeable exhuberance. "I know, and I'm sorry you can't come...but, I'll tell you as soon as we're done!"

"Ok, asta lavista!" He said happily. Tali at first gave him a strange look, but moments later smiled in return. _ Oh yeah, translator. Seriously, is Spanish a dead language now? _ He shrugged his shoulders in as he watched Tali walk away, blatantly displeased at an indecipherable remark by none other than Mr. Vakarian himself.

Turning back to the immediate vacinity, he was greeted by Kasumi with her hands on her hips, one eyebrow raised. "Geez, you know they won't be gone more than an hour?" She smirked playfully at his sudden posture stiffening, obviously nervous all of the sudden. "Hmm, so the bonding goes both ways?"

"Wait what? What do you know about quarian bonding?" He stated defensively, only furthering the theif's delight.

"You're not the only one who can do some research." She answered happily.

Aj just shrugged his shoulders, having no real comeback for the very... informed Kasumi. He scratched the back of his neck, causing the small Japanese woman to smile mischeviously. "Yeah yeah, if I try to eat nutrient paste though, stop me."

Kasumi laughed lightly before motioning him to follow her. They both took a few steps away from the first group, who was headed towards Liara. "I found something special when I was with Shepard, and we're going to go return it!"

Aj caught up to the briskly walking theif and asked surprised, "Well, I didn't expect you to return something, but I'm glad you are." The theif smiled as they continued, and after a few steps he added mostly jokingly, "Unless you're trying to use me to plant a bug on someone or something."

"Oh not today, but that's a great idea!" Kasumi answered in an unsurprisingly upbeat tone.

The duo walked into the markets, overhearing a volus and an asari arguing about market morals. Further away, they could make out Tali's suited figure going up the stairs to Liara's office. As the woman disappeared from view, Aj checked to his side to find the small theif, but was only treated to the sight of her back. She was rapidly walking away, so he decided to quickly follow.

As he stomped in his effort and finally caught up, Kasumi grinned, "Good, I thought you'd be too busy leering at Tali to notice I left, without even cloaking!" She didn't slow down, however, and Aj wondered if he just seemed to make women want to hurry up.

He responded with a chuckle, shaking his head. After a few more seconds, as the two were skirting underneath Liara's office, Aj finally asked, "Where are we going?"

She pointed ahead, to an asari walking up the stairs to the docking bay. "I think it's hers." The hooded lady said. The asari in question was wearing a beautiful purple robe, adorned with golden hems, making the woman look almost regal. Aj and Kasumi slowed down a little, as it was a bit crowded, and continued to follow the blue woman. When they arrived at the docking area, they were treated to a brief glimpse of the woman... as she went down an elevator.

Kasumi jogged the short distance to the elevator, but unfortunately, the asari was checking her omnitool, and the elevator closed before the theif arrived.

"Damnit!" Kasumi said frustratedly standing by the door. She quickly pulled out her omnitool and accessed the elevator's controls, while Aj stood by with his arms crossed.

"How do you know whatever you have is hers?" Aj asked as Kasumi redirected another elevator to their position. She had noticed the asari she was tracking headed towards the lower markets, her favorite kind of scene.

Kasumi took the trinket out of one of her front pockets, gently handing it to Aj. "See for yourself, be careful though, that thing's worth a fortune!"

As the door opened -a new elevator had quickly arrived- Aj opened the locket. The scene was of the human male standing, smiling while an asari hend a small blue child. "I see. She does look a lot like this chick in the picture. What makes you sure we'll find her in a crowd?"

Kasumi looked at him and grinned, shimmering into oblivion before quickly returning. Aj got the message, and added, "Right, master theif. My bad." The elevator ride down was quiet for a few moments until he continued, "So, do you think there's any jewlery stores down there?"

Her grin widened as she answered nonchalantly, "I think I know just the place; it has the prettiest stuff that can make Tali one very happy woman."

Aj returned her grin happily, feeling no hesitation or shyness from her correct quarian assumption. "Perfect Kasumi, thank you!" He was thankful because he was not skilled at picking out jewlery. Before he could elaborate on his elatement, the doors opened. Kasumi bolted out in a near instantaneous reaction, leaving Aj again in the upleasantly similar situation of catch up.

The lower market was a beautifully designed shopping center, with various shops along a roughly twenty meter wide walking lane. Evenly spaced plant pots, surrounded by benches, dotted where the center divide would be; the plants ranged from a strange light blue grass to a large red cylinder shaped plant with half-circle shaped yellow 'ledges' on the stalk. _We sure as hell aren't in Kansas._ He also realized she had oddly left him with the valuable item. "Damnit wait up!"

His plead was unanswered, as the theif continued at her pace. _Shit man, my thighs are still sore from chasing down Tali, now this? Great..._Still, he could help but admire how gracefully she dodged two incoming volus individuals compared too his haphazard attempts, clipping an elcor. This part of Nos Astra had a healthy population of non-asari.

After around ten seconds of failing at 'katch the Kasumi', the theif suddenly paused in her tracks. The large Puerto Rican finally had time to catch up

As he arrived beside her, resisting the urge to massage his sore thighs, the theif pointed at a small shop. The store resembled the various ones at the Citadel, but instead of an enclosed space, was bordered by two other stores of various goods. There were strange, light green, vine-like, potted plants sitting on the shop, with the shopkeep unseen. "See? That's her right there!" Kasumi squeaked excitedly, pointing at an asari at the said shop.

"Finally! So, what are you waiting for?" Aj shrugged his shoulders and quickly took the first steps toward the asari, hoping she didn't decide to scurry off somewhere. He could barely make out Kasumi's light footsteps behind him, and proceeded to pick up his pace. It wasn't long before he reached the blue lady, who had moved to one of the middle benches.

He stopped near her, and could hear the unmistakeable sound of gentle sobbing. Without really thinking, Aj put his and on the woman's shoulder. The asari turned quickly, her eyes widening at the imposing figure. He saw her eyes focus directly at his Claymore. After a moment of silence, she weakly uttered, "Is...there something you need?"

During the brief moment of silence, Aj's eyes darted rapidly to his surroundings, and wasn't thrilled with the absence of a certain individual. _I'm going to put laxatives in that woman's sushi, damnit. I guarantee she planned this out, how the hell am I supp-_ His own thoughts were stopped by the woman's extremely distraught voice. _Sad? This is a happy picture...unless..._ He had to stop himself from going into another mental tangent, and casually sat down.

Aj opened his hand closer to the asari, revealing the intricate trinket. "Is this yours, ma'am?"

The woman's eyes grew, focused on the device. She carefully, almost if not believing the item was real, put her hand over the memoir. The asari's eyes began accumulating moisture as she lifted it, and they began to trickle immediately after she opened it, revealing her first day of motherhood. She closed it happily, and then looked back at Aj with a tear-stained smile, "Thank you... so much. I've been trying for hours to access the docks, but they wouldn't let me in. I... I was so afraid I lost the last...the last thing I have left of my husband, Steven..." She stared at the trinket, before quietly adding, "I am sorry, I haven't even introduced myself... my name is Brintia."

"My names Aj" He replied. Aj absorbed the new information and was at a loss for words though past the greeting. _A human married an asari? Well... it can't be so weird for a human and a quarian then..._ He quickly jumped away from himself, and went back to the asari at hand. _The worst thing in my life was waking up in the ship... but I also met Tali that day..._ He returned the smile even weaker than hers, causing the asari to look worried for a moment, but he continued, using his past to assist one in the present. "I know what it's like to lose the person you love, devastating is too small a word. We all lose a piece of ourselves when our other half parts from us, but always remember that's not the last thing you have left of him." He put his hand back on the asari's shoulder, and continued, "You'll always have your memories, maybe even share them with your daughter."

The woman smiled at him, wiping away her own tears. She glanced at the trinket again, before meeting his gaze. This time, her face was more...solemn. "You've lost someone you care about, haven't you?"

Aj's attempts to bring a lively attitude into the conversation came crashing down instantaneously, which the asari also noticed. She almost apologized immediately, but he sadly removed his hand and answered, "Yeah, it was a very long time ago...it..it was debilitating..."

The asari's expression showed her empathy for the situation, and he felt a hand rest on his knee. He looked down, and could barely make out what looked to be the outline of a human hand. Knowing he had a friend for support, Aj tried his best to speak through his soul.

He looked up, glancing at the crowd ahead, then back at the asari. "The only thing I could do was move on. It took a while, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done... but everytime I see her, I know it was worth every second of hardship just to let my heart find another love." He paused for a moment, finally cracking a smile "Even if she's from a different world." A near inaudible giggle was heard from who he assumed was Kasumi. The asari was patiently listening to his words, and seemed to be taking them to heart. Aj did his best to forget the frightful image of the burned, barely alive Harumi in his mind, and tried again to lighten the mood. "The whole interspecies thing makes it just that much more interesting, though."

Brintia looked at him questioningly, but soon formed into a weak smile. "You repeat the words of the matriarchs... and my mother...That's all they would tell me once they found out he was ...he was visiting his... what'd he call it, 'man club?' in Freedom's Progress... it was just recently raided.. nobody made it out." She sadly glanced at the crowd, much like he did, before continuing, "Nobody I knew had ever bonded with a human, your species is so new to the galaxy, so very quick at adapting" The asari slumped a bit as she finished, "I honestly thought you all were uncivilized primates when I first heard of your appearance, and I was wrong... he made me happy... very happy... I do not know of a kind what can be so powerful, but yet... so caring."

The mention of Freedom's Progess brought a fresh pang of guilt to Aj, but he knew deep inside it was truly not his fault. _Never makes it any easier... a whole colony gone... at least we got Veetor out safely. _"I'm sorry for your loss...but remember, this may be the human in me popping up, but don't give up. Even your heart."

Brintia stared at the locket quietly, but she seemed to be in thought over his philosophy. He decided to circumvent that topic, switching to a lighter conversation. "We humans are a strange bunch, my... wife... actually seems to get a kick out of calling me a primate.

She finally showed a true smile as she responded, "I take it that you have bonded to an asari?"

"Actually, no." Her inquisitive expression resulted in him scratching a nonexistant back-of-the-neck itch. "Well, she's a quarian."

Instead of the normal bewildering expression, the woman's eyes widened ...happily? "By the goddess, so she was right!" Now it was Aj who had the perusing countenance as she elaborated, "One of my assistants told me she saw a quarian holding hands with a human...I did not believe her, and yet here I am, twice wrong about humans..." She chuckled softly before rubbing her thumbs over the trinket.

"She completes me, honestly... and I love her more than anything else in the universe." He smiled at the truthfulness in his own words as he continued, "it hasn't made gift shopping any easier though." He paused, then asked, "unless you remember where you got that beautiful trinket?"

"Ahh, now I see why you were in the markets!" Brintia stood up abruptly, "I would be glad to show you, it's the least I can do since you returned this to me...and for the talk...this...well, it's all she has to remember him by..." She saddened as she focused on it, carefully slipping the memento into one of her robe's pockets.

Aj stood up happily, thankful his search might finally reach its conclusion. As they began walking, he was certain that he could make out the silouette of a pesky Asian on his other side. _There's literally no point in even trying to stop her. She did just help me out...though this may just be a streak of luck._

Beside him, he heard a faint whisper, "I think we're going to the same store I was going to show you."

Aj turned and smiled at the empty space were Kasumi was hiding, then faced the asari. "So, who's the jewler who made this for you?"

Brintia smiled, "She's not just a jewler; my mother, Ereba, made this for me."


	42. The Blue Planet pt 6

_Deleted Chp. 43 and just placed in this one for a super long chapter :) I feel like I'm having too much fun writing Illium...if I get to part 10+, shoot me D: !_

The sheer amount of gusto in Wrex's laugh could scare a normal group of any species. However, in this setting, it merely just fueled the flames of Garrus' displeasure. Liara had made a semicircle of chairs around her desk, using her terminal to show the krogan's face. Shepard and Garrus had been absolutely thrilled, to say the least, when Liara brought out the fine alcoholic beverages. Tali and Garrus were treated to a few rounds of Jiklatx ale, while Shepard was thoroughly surprised at an old Earth beer, Guiness stout.

Garrus was not amused, clicking his mandibles in frustration. "I'm telling you, with one round I took out three mercs!" Wrex just continued laughing, drawing the unspoken ire, although friendly, from the turian marksman.

"Real men look their enemy in the eyes before blowing off their skulls." The krogan leader said proudly, holding his gun. Garrus shook his head, obviously not as enthusiastic at his combat style, and finished up with a gulp of his Jiklatx ale. With a grin, Wrex added "A good shotgun in the right hands is unstoppable."

Tali quipped, "I agree, a shotgun is obviously the best weapon in a firefight." She had happily been teasing Garrus and Shepard most of the reunion, but was truly serious in her opinion on this. _Or maybe Chiktkka vas Paus!_

Garrus waved her off, chuckling. "Of course you'd agree Tali, hell you're almost a krogan yourself! Slap on 400lb and a redundant organ system, and you're good to go." His response was a quick 'bosh'tet' along with her insuing giggle, while Wrex let a low chuckle.

Shepard interjected before either of them could continue. "I'm really starting to think biotics are the way to go, myself; I hardly have to worry about ammo." The commander said happily.

"See Wrex? You should train your biotics more." Liara said calmly from her chair closest to the desk. She glowed blue, and momentarily biotically grabbed Garrus' drink before he quickly snatched it out off the air. She confidently smirked afterwards, all the while occasionally sipping her Thessian wine.

Wrex had a thoughtful look for a moment, but turned towards an unknown scene. He sighed, then refaced the group. "Another Rite to oversee, ever since Urdnot Grunt killed the maw, the whelps finally started to grow their quads. Everyone's bashing their plates, eager to become true krogan." The reptile grinned widely at the revelation.

"At least some good came out of that." Shepard answered after he glanced down at his freshly reconstructed shoulder. Both Garrus and Tali winced, recalling the horrendous injury.

"It's been nice seeing you Wrex." Liara said with a genuine smile; the others nodded their affirmation.

Garrus quickly added, "And don't forget, I'm still meeting you at a range next time. Got to make sure you don't get all soft up there on your throne."

Wrex's second laugh was almost as loud as his first, coupled with a feral grin. "Don't worry Vakarian... I'm always ready." Soon after, the communication was cut, leaving only the four comrades on Illium.

Tali checked her omnitool, and was surprised to see an hour had passed. She jumped to her feet and noticed the sunset had fully disappeared, leaving only the artificially lit buildings in its place. "Keelah, I was having too much fun. The bosh'tet is probaly passed out at a bar somewhere by now."

Garrus was up next; he stretched his arms and added, "Well, he better have saved me some, that's my next stop. You in Shepard?"

Shepard chuckled, replying, "I didn't call shore leave just so I could be stuck up on the Normandy. How about you Liara?"

Her smile quickly changed into a sad frown as she answered, "I have so much to do... I wish I could join you two, but I can't walk out on my business." She reluctantly moved the terminal back to its original location as Shepard and Tali moved the chairs to their appropriate places.

Garrus looked at his quarian 'sister', "Tali?"

She smiled, and happily replied. "Not tonight Garrus, I'm already tired. But maybe after the mission tomorrow!"

Garrus nodded, understanding the sentiment, while Shepard snidely replied, "Well, if we, and by we, I mean Garrus, need help getting to the shuttle, we'll know who to call!"

Tali laughed along with the other three. She patiently watched as first Garrus, then Shepard embraced their favorite asari information broker, before casually departing. Their parting conversation seemed to indicate both had an insatiable thirst for 'healthy' beverages.

Liara noticed Tali hadn't moved, and approached with a smile. "Did you need something, Tali?"

A sudden wave of anxiety and indecision plagued poor miss Zorah. The young quarian's hands began to wring quickly, as she knew exactly what she needed to ask...but... _Oh keelah, why is this so hard..._ She managed to nod her head, and sat down in the normal client's seat by Liara's desk. As the asari followed suit and sat down at her business post, Tali finally began. "I..uh... well, keelah. I... we need- no! I mean want to..." She stopped, covering her face with all six of her digits, her face a furnace of embarrassment.

She lifted her head, placing both hands on the desk, when she noticed Liara was still calmly staring at her, a miniscule smile formed on her face. "Tali, whatever you need to tell me will never leave this room. I promise." She gently patted one of Tali's hands reassuringly, then leaned back, awaiting her friend.

_It's Liara...keelah, why can't I ask her. This is much more difficult...especially alone...where is that bosh'tet when I need him..._She silently wrung her hands for a few seconds, before she slumped in her chair. Almost inaudibly, the she inquired. "Do...you know where...I..we...can find..." Tali looked up nervously, noticing Liara's face had gone from intrigued to worried. _Oh keelah she's going to laugh at me... "_to find...a...a...sterilized room." Her heart nearly stopped as she asked the question she had been wanting to ask since even before the reunion.

To say Liara T'soni was thoroughly surprised would be an understatement. Her mouth was agape for a full two seconds, face in astonishment, before it slowly began to form a smile. Much to the Tali's relief, the information broker began to type into her terminal.

Meanwhile, far away from Illium, a small shuttle docked with the Rayya. The asari pilot nodded at Kina, who had the one somewhat large crate of cargo in her arms. Although the pilot had offered to help, she felt bad enough someone had paid for her freedom, and then travel. She wanted to do something, no matter how small, to repay the human.

As the shuttle departed, thankfully the crew of the Rayya had a gurney she could use. Kina asked one of them where Kal'Reegar was, and soon she was happily was en route to the firing range.

The life of a Migrant Fleet Marine often involved switching ships on a routine schedule, and he now was stationed on a liveship, the Rayya. Kal had an old sniper rifle, and was currently sighting a target simulated at 200 meters away. He held his breath, carefully sighting the crosshairs over the target reticule, and gently pulled the trigger. Instantly, the target flashed, indicated a perfect shot. He was absolutely thrilled for a moment. _Keelah, right in the middle! _But soon after, the marine wearily sighed. _I wish Tali...or Aj was here to see this. _The marine was sad to see Tali go, considering she was like the younger sister he never had. Surprisingly, he found himself missing the human crewmember also. Without either of them around, it was back to the same routine as before, when Tali had undertook her Pilgrimage...loneliness. His strong sense of duty to the fleet, however, kept him at peak performance, and he was thankful that the...couple...would return at a later date. _I get to meet the famous Kal'Reegar! The man who single handedly killed 20 geth on one mission!? Oh keelah what if he won't let me see what's inside..._

As he began to sight another shot, a female voice broke his concentration. "Uhm, excuse me... Mr. Reegar?" Kal turned to the voice, and was greeted by Kina and a crate. She was nervously wringing her fingers, and for a moment, he thought Tali had returned. However, her bright yellow _realk_ and differing pattern identified her as a technician, not an engineer, and of a differing clan name, respectively.

"Yes? And please, it's just Kal. How may I assist you ma'am?" He courteously replied while holstering his rifle.

Her fingers slowed, but did not stop; Kal couldn't help but chuckle. "What's so funny bosh'tet?" Kina asked, finally stopping her hands, but disapprovingly putting them on her hips.

_She even acts like Tali, keelah... _Kal managed to stiffle his laugh. "You reminded me of my old friend Tali'Zorah."

"Oh!" Kina perked up at the name; she clasped her hands together, but refrained from wringing them as Kal let out another snicker. "Quit being a det kazuat!" She squeaked, but let out a giggle herself.

_Yup, just like Tali. _"So, what is in the crate?" He perused.

"What? Oh...sorry. I..uh don't know." She wrung her hands for a moment and continued, "But Tali and her...bondmate asked me to bring it to you, and said I could study it!"

Kal's interest was immediately piqued in the crate, his shooting practice all but forgotten. He walked up to it, and noticed the crate was sealed, only accessible through his omnitool. It didn't take long to open, as he noticed it was strangely similar to the locks Tali would devise.

As soon as the locking mechanism opened, Kina nearly had a heart attack. Kal though, just stared disbelievingly at the weapon before him. The M622-Avalanche, the weapon he was always envious of, sat right there in front of him. As if it were made of glass, he gingerly picked up the gun.

"Keelah! What is that thing!?" Kina said in a tone conveying both astonishment and excitement.

Kal shook his almost dream-like thoughts, and glanced up at the woman happily. "This thing shoots out frozen projectiles, it's a prototype human technology!" He handed the weapon to Kina, who's eyes widened much the same as his when the crate first opened.

"Hey, it came with a note!" Kina said after thoroughly examining the weapon and handing it back to him. A small holopad was lodged where the thermal clip would be loaded, as if meant to be read prior to firing.

"What's it say?" Kal questioned, hovering next to the woman. She scooted extra close to him - something he noticed quickly - but didn't try to stop her.

_Kal,_

_The bosh'tet forgot to leave a note, so I left this for you. Aj told me that if the fleet likes the new weapon, the Alliance would co-develop a better model with us! Can you believe that? For the first time in centuries we would be working with another species government! Keelah, but there's better news! He wanted you specifically to have it, and Kina to study it, so that makes you the test dummy, and her your 'boss'!_

_Your friend,_

_Tali._

_P.S. Don't be a bosh'tet._

Kal was absolutely speechless, and so was the woman next to him... After a few seconds of blissful silence, Kina unenthusiastically said, "I'll leave you alone, I know you have to test it and such..."

The young woman turned took a step away, as if to do just that, but was stopped when Kal put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, extremely nervous at what the infamous marine had to say.

He questioned her with a grin, "You don't want to try it?" She fidgeted nervously, then shook her head yes. He slipped his hand down, tugging her wrist towards the range. Little did he know poor Kina was blushing madly at the simple touch.

Kal held the weapon in firing position much like Aj had showed him. "First, you have to line up the sights." The marine moved the weapon a little to his right for her to view the said sighting. He felt Kina's helmet rest on his shoulder, looking up at him for a moment before hastily looking back at the gun. Kal paused for a moment, wondering if the Ancestors answered his lonely heart, before slowly showing her what he knew.

After roughy fifteen minutes of walking -Nos Astra was a massive city- Brintia slowed down, turning into an unremarkable kiosk. The area had been winding down as darkness began to set on Illium. Most of the basic commercial shops had shut down for the night, and the store they arrived at seemed no different. It was adorned with the strange green vines as the one Brintia was perusing previously. One could clearly see a small, but beautiful selection of rings, bracelets, and other sorts of jewlery behind a lightly-tinted blue, and a perfectly right-triangled cabinet held by three feet of a strange orange-brown Earth wood equivalent. The asari shopkeep was polishing a necklace, obviously determined, but turned to the group of three, albeit only two were seen. She instantly smiled, recognizing her daughter.

"Brintia!" The asari said happily. "It's good to see you again, by your look I assume you finally retrieved it?"

She smiled in response, taking out the trinket and showing it to her mother. She motioned over at Aj, then responded. "This human found it, then freely returned it to me." She then fully faced the said primate with her own smile, "Aj, this is Ereba, my mother and esteemed jewler of Illium for over 400 years." She then relooked at the shopkeep. "Mother, this is Aj."

The asari known as Ereba smiled thankfully at the human before adding. "Thank you, Aj. That was a very special gift... I was afraid she had lost it forever."

Aj fidgeted in place; he was never a big fan of accepting praise, even in his youth. He only managed to respond, "Well, um, I know I'd hate to lose something so important, especially of someone special."

Ereba's smile did not abate, but before she could respond, her daughter interjected politely, "Mother, he is trying to find a gift for his bondmate. I believe you'd be able to help."

Aj darkened a bit. _I'm going to have to get used to that word, nobody else says wife...but 400 years? Maybe... _Looking directly at the shopkeep, he cautiously inquired, "Well, I was looking for an older design...it's from Rannoch...for my _inszel._"

Ereba's eyes flared open, and she quickly turned to face Brintia. Her daughter, however, just had a content smirk and nodded. Ereba looked back at Aj, who was still out of his element in romantic gifts. She grinned at him, and put one hand to her chin. "I can't believe the rumor's true, goddess it feels like you humans just appeared yesterday, now I hear one of you has done what no race has done before - bonded with a quarian."

_Wait...rumors? _Aj began to wring his hands, something he never did prior to his quarian lover, and weakly asked, "Just how many people know, exactly?"

Ereba casually leaned over, inspecting her knuckles, then glancing at him. She nonchalantly informed, "Well, nobody knows you two's name, but my guess is the entire colony will know within a month." Her daughter freely walked behind the counter and stood by her mother.

_Wow, so it really is that big of a deal... well.. I'm extremely lucky, Tali's absolutely amazing. _Still, it wasn't a thrilling experience to know an entire population of asari was perusing into his personal life. _Worse than reporters back in the day... and bluer. _Out of the corner of his eye, he could see one of the vines unnaturally shaking; he looked a bit higher and was positive that was Kasumi's smirk pointed directly at him. The semisynthetic human was actually glad to have moral support, albeit sneaky and consisnently overintrusive. He decided to hell with modesty, at least the best he could. "Well...yes, you're right, I'm... bonded to her." _Man, this just sounds weird, but hell, it's not so bad considering we're both actual aliens to each other..._ "And, well I wanted to get her the special bracelet I saw in the ceremonies."

Ereba again looked at him wide-eyed, but easily composed herself this time. She typed into her omnitool, pulling up a beautiful metal bracelet. It was adorned with a strange bent-line pattern... which looked very familiar. _Shala! _It was identical to Admiral Raan's _realk _pattern_._ His thoughts were stopped when she asked, "I believe you speak of this, the _vazisan_?"

Aj nodded, as it was the same dimensions as the one he viewed through Samara's memories. "Yes... that's exactly what I want, but I don't think it's the right pattern."

The asari closed the screen, smiling brightly at her correct assesment. She politely clarified, "Don't worry, every single _vazisan _differs from the next, as no two are made exactly alike."

_Time for the big question. _He took a relatively deep breath, then calmly asked,"Would you be able to make me one?"

She chuckled lightly, "It has been some time, but yes, I still remember how to make a proper band. There is information, however, you will have to provide to complete it."

He excitedly responded, "That's great! So how will this work?" _So Tali's realk, I think I've got a good picture of it. What else does she need? Shit she'll need Tali's arm size too..._ He pulled up both of the said items, the size of her wrist area recorded by the medical scans; he was an emergency doctor on the Normandy, and was entitled to said information.To prevent further confusion, he begrudgingly manually opened the omnitool interface for the procedures above.

Ereba was watching what he was doing, and she quickly received a picture mostly focused on Tali's _realk, _while the second cache was the data only pertaining to her wrist. "Well, I'm glad to see you're prepared." She replied grateful, but somewhat surprised. "Please, follow me. There is one last thing I need to complete it."

Brintia bowed to them both, and made her leave in a noticeably happier mood. Slighty offput by her almost mystical tone, Aj cautiously followed the asari through a abnormally tall and wide cloth 'door'. _I really hope Kasumi's still following me... _They walked into a slender 3 meter corridor, with an offshot into what looked like metallurgy raw materials, but they continued ahead. The second cloth door at the corridor's finale revealed two surprising things. One, was a beautiful 90 degree view of Illium's skyline, currently only lit by the various colors of large skyscrapers, while the other was a rather large krogan furthest away at the far right, sitting at a workbench, and intently focused on what looked like a writing screen on a stationary terminal. Unsurprisingly, there was a disassembled Avenger rifle and a fully assembled Eviscerator shotgun nearby. _I fucking hope she's in this room too._

Ereba seemed unfazed, and calmly announced, "Charr, do you mind if I have the room for a customer? He's one of the difficult ones."

The krogan, apparently named Charr, rapidly stood to attention, walking over near the duo. "Of course." Ereba kissed the side of his cheek, smiling, and he made his way the door, adding, "Greetings human." and a nod, which Aj returned. He was out of the room pretty quickly for such a large reptile.

Aj glanced near where the large krogan had been located. _Damn, it doesn't take much equipment at least to make jewelry nowadays does it?_ He saw what looked like an automated whisking bowl in old Earth culinary equipment, but the enormous power source and thick metal bowl hinted at a more...interesting creation process. "So...a krogan?"

A substantially more comfortable in his mortality Aj followed Ereba as she announced with a chuckle, "Charr is my bondmate, and please do not be alarmed, he's quite harmless really." They made their way to the skyline view, where Ereba sat on the ground, facing him, and motioned for him to follow, which he obeyed.

"So Brintia is half krogan? In that asari way." Aj asked, surprised more at the full krogan's unusual politeness, while only slightly questioning the asari's actual child.

Ereba gently smiled from her sitting position, "Yes, she'll be 217 in a few months, and yet she's already nearing the end of her maiden years...Thank you again, Aj?, for your compassion. It broke my heart to see her in such distress." Before he responded, however, she sincerely asked, "Have you ever shared your mind with an asari before?"

_So that's what she wants? What the hell does she need to know? _"Uhm, yes I have once... but why do you need to do it? Why not just questions and answers?" He was not thrilled to share his final pre-synthetic memory, or even the times he had seen Tali's beautiful face.

She coolly responded, "The final addition to the bracelet is your vision for your future together." She let the words sink for a few moments before continuing, "The quarian males I had spoken to often had difficulty with this part. The direct melding often was much easier, and better showed what they meant, than verbal conversation."

Aj truly did not want to go through the process, especially since Samara had already known he was partially synthetic before their sharing. He honestly was about to get up and politely refuse, but...he remembered exactly why he was going through the endeavor. _She risked her life just so I could see her face, to kiss her soft lips for the first time...and this is just an inconvenience..._That was all he needed to do before he made his decision, reluctantly meeting the asari's gaze. _I hope the synthetics don't make too much of a difference..._Aj took a deep breath, then quietly stated, "I'm...ready."

She stared at his eyes, unblinking, and softly spoke, eerily the same as Samara. "Relax your mind, take slow, deep breaths. The strings what bind us, all life, are all one unit. Life is one soul, in many different forms. Accept this, know yourself." She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. When they opened, pitch black ovals had replaced them. "Embrace eternity." Oddly, Aj's final lone thought before they melded was not of the actual topic at hand, but if the asari had institutionalized the phrasing prior to.

For a few seconds, it seemed as everything was blackness. His... concious... was floating in a dark, almost ethereal dimension of nothingness. Soon, though, a familiar voice pierced the darkness, and her blue form appeared in front of him. Ereba calmly stated, "Welcome, Aj. I am glad that you have successfully opened your mind."

Aj sighed, to which the woman seemed confused. He cautiously asked, "Can you...detect...anything strange?"

She gave him an inquiring look, and calmly answered, "Your mind has a lot of technical improvements, but I cannot access that information. Our mind melding only includes organic mediums."

_Oh my goodness thank you! I_'_m getting sick of explaining that. _Thoroughly relieved, he questioned, "So, what do you mean the future?"

Ereba looked at him, smiling. "You do not need to explain your technology to me. There are more pressing issues. And to what you spoke, that is the question, and you know the answer. What kind of life do you wish to share with her?"

He flinched, forgetting that she could 'hear' his earlier thought, but was more concerned with the question. In an instant, the true meaning of the question became clear to him. _What can I do for her to make her happy, to make us happy together..._ The answer was as clear as spring water, and the asari carefully listened to his wordless images.

Their minds disconnected soon after, and she bowed at him. "I will have your gift ready in the morning, Antonio." He almost asked how she knew his name, but quickly considered their literal informational sharing moments earlier.

He awkwardly returned the bow, and vowed to return in the morning. The krogan had even courteously said his farewell also, which again surprised him. After taking a few steps out of the shop, he noticed the crowds were near non-existant now, as many of the more respectful shops had already closed. Kasumi shimmered into existance beside him, her nearly ever-present smirk a welcome familiar sight.

"Tali called while you were busy, she said she had a surprise waiting on you." Kasumi said. He could swear he saw her smirk conveying an almost knowing attitude.

Back at the office...Tali was more nervous than she had ever been her entire short life. The awkward talk with Aj about the quarian path of bonding was terrifying. The unexpectedly fast...discussion with Dr. Solus was absolutely horrible. But this...this was not something she could prepare herself from. _Keelah...on the fleet submitting a request is always anonymous, nobody would try to... 'hog' the rooms. Every other species ...especially that bosh'tet Garrus... want to know every time we're together..._She nervously wrung her fingers as Liara was silently plucking away at her terminal.

Within seconds, her asari friend's blue fingers had ceased their movement. She looked up at her obviously nervous friend with a small smile. "There's an elcor-ran hotel I found, here in Nos Astra." She pushed one button on her terminal confidently, and Tali's omnitool flared to life. Miss T'soni continued as miss Zorah blinked rapidly in embarrassment. "It has a room specifically conditioned for elcor, volus, and most importantly, quarians. It can mainmain a completely sterile environment. It's got levo features as well; ome asari, and recently, humans also enjoy using the rooms for a temporary low gravity environment, which helps relieve stress on our backs. I don't know what they'll think about this specific combination, however." Liara smiled devilishly, but a beep at her terminal focused the asari's attention.

A certain quarian quickly opened the file, more than happy to break eye contact in her current nervous state. Liara elaborated as she perused, still paying attention to her words. _This room has an air filtration unit? And...what is...volus, right. Keelah, it can maintain a sterile environment! But...oh my...10,000 credits per night cycle..._ Tali sulked inwardly, her quarian nature lecturing her not to spend so much... to be so selfish...even though she was thankful Shepard called a shore leave, Ken and Gabby didn't deserve to stumble into the pile of new components for the upgrades...she was skirting duties..._just for_...Liara's rather intrusive joke caught her offguard, bringing the young dextro back to the situation at hand, rather abruptly. _That blue bosh'tet! _She disapprovingly retorted. "I do not give a damn what they think, Liara." Her false bravado and harsh tone stunned the asari, and Tali quickly felt it fade nearly as soon as she spoke it. _Why am I being such a...bitch?... to my friend..._The quarian turned away shamefully, but refaced her friend, and remorsefully added. "Keelah, I'm sorry Liara... it's just..." Her fingers wrung a bit on the desk before she continued in an even sadder tone. "Why does everyone question us, or point fingers at us... His soul called to me, and mine responded... I do not know how, he is a human, but it did." She sniffled lightly, looking down at her toes. "I just want to spend some time with my lifemate... There is no guarantee we will even come back from our mission..."

Quickly the disheartened quarian felt a hand on her shoulder, and soon -after getting up from her chair-, was in Liara's embrace. She sniffled a few times, and was about to thank her friend, before the said asari voiced her own opinion. "Don't think like that Tali. You know Shepard, he will do whatever it takes to get you all home safely."

Tali released the embrace, wringing her hands again in nervousness. "I know...it's just... everything is so strange this time, not even the mission." The young Zorah walked to the back of Liara's office, and gazed outside, admiring the planet's serene skyline. She sighed, turning back to her patiently attentive blue friend, and somberly added. "I always feel... alone...without him, I know...at least I...am incomplete without him...but ...I'm still scared about ...us."

In an instant, the true source of the quarian's fears was revealed to Liara, albeit discretely. She carefully perused. "You're scared he won't want you once he sees...what's under your suit."

Liara's comment was rewarded with silver orbs increasing in width, the owner of the said bioluminescent eyes shuffling her feet uncomfortably. Tali reluctantly conceeded. "What if he is disgusted by what he sees...by me..." She again sadly looked down at her two longer toes in shame._ Why is everything so difficult... so confusing? Bosh'tet human males._

Liara was unsure what to say; she had no clue what quarians looked like for sure, but more importantly, her friend was worrying herself to death. Miss T'soni used Tali's easiest source of relief, carefully placed diversion. She reassuringly asked. "Have you checked with your doctor, Mordin Solus? If anyone can help, he can."

Tali stared at the asari in surprise. _Liara is a very good information broker..._She softly inquired. "You know about Dr. Solus?"

Liara chuckled lightly, sitting down back at her terminal. "I knew of him, but until your information specialist Miss Edie gave me limited access to your ships files, I was unaware he was onboard the Normandy." She started to type into her terminal, and soon began to elaborate. "Dr. Solus is one of the most esteemed scientists in the Salarian Union, most noteably for developing a treatment plan with the Illuminated Primacy to help drell patients with Kepler's Syndrome live longer and less painful lives." Liara glanced at Tali, who had sat back down, and in a motherly tone asked. "Did you talk to him about...what you plan on doing?"

Even in her current gloom, Tali couldn't help but smile at EDI's likely unintentional white lie of omission. She replied, in a slightly more positive demeanor. "I've talked to him, yes... He told me, well, 'it' is... possible." Unfortunately, Liara's tactic failed as Tali uneasily and woefully continued. "I still do not know if he will even...want me. I know I find him attractive...but what if..." She trailed off, again ending in a sigh. _Why am I here alone, though... it's just me and Liara... _

The asari interjected, interrupting her thoughts. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Tali. Even through the suit, anyone can tell you're a beautiful woman."

The quarian blushed lightly, but gratefully retorted, "Thank you Liara, I... I don't know what he'll think... but I hope he agrees." Tali decided to get a certain human to join her for moral support. "Give me a second, please? I want to see if Aj is still busy." Liara smiled and nodded, quickly hopping back to her desk. The slightly nervous quarian typed into her omnitool for Aj, but after a few seconds, he didn't answer. She tried again, and again, was met with no answer. She - now somewhat annoyed the human- called him one last time, and yet again, was rewarded with nothing. _What is that primate up to? Hmph, that bosh'tet better not be drunk already._ She thought for a moment, before remembering an unlikely ally. _Aj, I hope you're enjoying whatever your doing, because I'm going to slap you so hard..._ Her three digits effortlessly keyed in a different human's code.

Quickly, her second call was answered, and a petite theif was happily glancing at the now frustratedly alone Tali. She cheerfully answered. "Hey it's my favorite suited princess!" She smirked at the quarian's 'caught off-guard' expression, and added. "What can I do for you sweetie?"

Tali returned the smile, although hers was mostly hidden. She exhuberantly asked. "Hey Kasumi! I was just wondering what a certain bosh'tet bodyguard is up to. I tried calling him, but there was no answer."

Kasumi looked behind herself for a moment, before turning back with the same smirk as before. She nonchalantly explained. "Oh, you worry too much Tali. Right now he's mind melding with an asari, h-"

In an instant, the beautiful quarian's smiling countenance was replaced with an enraged scowl. She furiously demanded. "What the hell is he doing!?"

Kasumi's face hastily moved from view, quickly switched to the sight of a very familiar large human sitting criss-cross across from an asari in a similar position. Whatever he was doing, it did not appear sexual by any means. _Keelah...I can't believe I instantly thought he was... cheating. We quarian's...don't ever do that... _Again, the female dextro was ashamed of her quick and rude outburst. She looked down slightly, then softly enunciated. "I'm sorry Kasumi..."

The theif seemed unfazed, still with her everlasting subtle grin. In fake offence, she quipped. "Aw c'mon Tali, I thought we were friends!?" She thought for a moment before smirking devilishly. "You know I'd tell you if he was doing anything stupid, and besides..." She happily pulled out a small oval device from one of her innumberable pockets. "I've got flashbangs!"

Tali couldn't help but giggle, imagening the large human stumbling into any unfortunate nearby objects with the grace of an intoxicated krogan. Her face cheered up instantly, and she remembered what she was doing at Liara's in the first place. "I know Kasumi, I just get worried I guess. But, when he's done, let me know please!"

The master of theives gave her a quick questioning look at why she seemed suddenly so excited, but she didn't vocalize her demeanor. Kasumi nodded her head, answering exhuberantly. "Okay Tali, it might take a while, I don't know, they just started." Her smirk widened as she snidely added. "I thought the stuff about quarians and their partners almost never being alone was just an exaggeration."

Tali had spaced for a moment as she happily anticipated punching her bondmate, but it was interrupted as she caught exactly what the theif added. "Wait, what?" Her eyes widened in sync with the theif's grin.

Unfortunately, the theif was an expert at guarding her true knowledge on the topic. She excitedly retorted. "Oh nothing, I'll talk to you later!" Before the quarian could object, Kasumi's image flashed out of view.

_Keelah, how much does she know about quarian bonding? Does she know that..._Tali blushed furiously, knowing exactly how quarians... physically reaffirm their bond, especially for the first time. She frowned a bit, thinking how Aj would respond to the little surprise she was devising for him. _I hope the mission isn't too tough...I think...he may be tired. _She glanced over at Liara, who was patiently waiting, for some reason a small smirk on her countenance. "Thanks for waiting Liara, but I think the bosh'tet isn't available."

Liara nodded in understanding, and pulled up a seat beside her. "I'm sorry Tali. I was hoping to meet the lucky human who stole your heart without the entire squad, but I guess that'll have to wait." She biotically pulled a seat near her, and motioned Tali to sit. Miss Zorah quickly obliged, and Liara began to type into her terminal. Liara thought for a few moments, and decided to educate her as she was taught long ago by her own mother. Just the thought of Benezia brought up a long forgotten pain, when she watched her die right infront of her. However, the information broker quickly stiffled the thought, turning to the unsure quarian in her office. "Tali, I know you're still scared about... intercourse with someone of a different species, but I think this'll help." She seemed to ignore the rapid stiffening of the quarian's frame , along with her fingers neverending struggle for dominance. "We asari know quite a bit about relationships crossing the borders of biology. This was made to help maidens cope with really whatever species they decide to bond with." Tali did not seem as excited to learn as Liara was to show her, but seemed interested nonetheless. The blue century old woman motioned onscreen to a vid titled, _Matriarch Jympa's guide to interspecies relations: now with human diagrams! _Liara abruptly continued her guidance. "I think we should go to females, assuming your familiar with your own physiology; perhaps comparing it to what a human male may desire will help?" Liara tried, but couldn't hide a subtle smirk as she happily added. "Besides, I assume you've already done your research on the male's anatomy?"

Tali squirmed uncomfortably, but nodded in bashful agreement. _Keelah, those videos were...graphic... I think... it should work, but will he even enjoy it? Will I?..._Soon after her nod, Liara opened up a very detailed informative cache portrayed a human female's vagina, along with every single part labeled, and their functions. Beside it, an asari's analog, which was surprisingly much the same, albeit much more blue, and distinctly less... flappy. Tali yelped in surprise when the picture popped up, turning her face away in embarrassment -her face was an extremely dark shade of purple at the moment.

Unfortunately for miss Zorah, her fears were answered, and then some, as the voice - assumed to be Matriarch Jympa - casually elaborated on the similarities between human females and asari. As she reluctantly turned back to the vid at Liara's unspoken request -to Tali's great chagrin- the 'informative' video showed -in stunning detail- just how a human male would sexually stimulate both of the said female appendages above.

After ten minutes of 'educational' video, the Matriarch finally ceased talking. Tali, however, was in a strange state of mind. _By the ancestors... I do not think I needed to know that much...but... I think that will fit... in a qu-...me. _Her cheeks were somewhat sore from the prolonged blushing, and she was still shocked at the actual material.

Liara noticed her friend's quiet attitude, and reassuringly asked. "I doubt quarians are that much different than asari and humans. Don't worry so much, and be safe Tali, I don't think I want to tell Shepard you're sick from trying to bed a human." Liara chuckled at the quarian's mortified expression, and continued with. "Or Garrus."

_NO! Oh keelah, that turian bosh'tet would post it all over the extranet... if he even tries..._She grinned slightly imagening herself carefully disassembling his beloved sniper rifle, then turning it into a recyclable pile of scrap. _He'd better not, and Chiktikka will have something to say about it too._ She got up, slightly more confident, but infinitely more nervous. _I never knew human males were so... vigorous...I think this will be fun..._

She glanced over at her asari ally, who was again typing away at her terminal. "I don't know how to thank you Liara, for everything."

Liara glanced up, her face returning a beaming smile. "Don't worry about it Tali. Think of it as a repayment for reconfiguring the laser down on Therum." Tali smirked, remembering her quick skills in forcing the behemoth of a drilling device to cut a large swath for the team to save the then archaeologist. Before she could shrug off the compliment, Liara continued. "I called for a taxi down at the docking bays. It should be ready to take you to the hotel, and I also sent one to your bondmate. The room's yours for the night, and the taxi's paid for too."

Tali smiled gratefully, but quickly turned into a face of shock. _Already paid for? The taxi... and the room? The 10,000 credit room?! _She nervously inquired. "Liara, you know I appreciate the help, but you don't need to pay fo-"

Liara raised her hand, then interrupted the again nervous quarian female, which was a rare occurance for the normally overly polite -in nonfiscal conversations- asari. "I told miss Edie that you and Aj were staying the night in a quarian-furnished room, and she told me it would be covered. And before you get angry, think of it this way. Instead of spending your own money, you get to spend Cerberus's." She smiled, but then seemed to frown slightly. "Is she a salarian? Because I've never seen someone as quick at sending and replying in information. She's a very skilled worker."

_Edie payed for it? So Cerberus...oh keelah, what would the fleet think if they knew that...but still, 10,000 credits... and the taxi...is better paid from those bosh'tets is better than paying it myself... I think. _Tali's mind then raced with all the different ways she could answer her friend's lingering question without lying. She was known to be a terrible liar. She carefully circumvented instead, and replied in a cheerful tone. "Well, she's not a salarian, but if you want to know more, you'll have to come visit us up on the Normandy."

Liara chuckled, standing up along with the now happier quarian. She genuinely responded. "I would love to come see the new ship Shepard received, maybe tomorrow before your mission? I just hope Shepard isn't too busy though." She then carefully grabbed one of Tali's hands in between both of hers, and stared right at the silver dots behind the purple visor. She sincerely whispered. "Everyone who's ever met you knows you're an amazing woman, and you deserve to be happy. May the goddess be with you and your bondmate Tali; follow your heart, and never think you aren't good enough. You'll make him a very happy man, I know it."

Tali wa nearly speechless, but was extremely thankful for the vote of confidence. She gratefully retorted. "Thank you Liara, thank you so much."

With a new confidence in her step, Tali left the office. Although her asari friend was now forced to return to work, she -for the first time in a long while- didn't feel the burden of effort calling her name; within a minute, she was at the space dock, anticipating the 'beautifully mesmorizing view' offered by Liara's choice in hotels.


	43. The Blue Planet pt 7

Aj and Kasumi gratefully exited the unpleasantly slow elevator and entered the cargo docking bay. Although the alien plants seemed to pique his interest earlier, Aj had reluctantly followed the thief out of the marketplace. Illium's night seemed in full swing, but the area looked no less crowded than earlier. The planet's eerie pitch-black complexion was vigorously illuminated by the multitudes of different lights, thankfully, making traveling rather safe compared to most metropolitan areas in the darkness.

The large human and his current Asian sidekick began to walk away towards the Normandy's ship docking bay, but a small voice beside Aj's shoulder stopped him. He turned towards the smirking woman as she happily exclaimed. "I'm going to see if i can find some new free toys for Shepard. Thanks for letting me come with you, it was fun!"

Aj chuckled at the woman, thoroughly grateful she had accompanied him. "It was nice to have some non-violent company, we'll have to do it again sometime!"

The thief smiled in response, but it quickly disappeared along with the rest of her material self into her cloaked form. _You know... I bet I could get one of those bad boys into my system... It'd sure make scaring Tali a lot easier. Actually, speaking of her..._ He delved into a deep mental thought and, within moments, connected to the special quarian in question.

As soon as her visor came to his cognitive image, Aj mentally perused and clarified. _"Hey Tali! Where are you hiding at? I'm done with my shopping."_

Within moments, his dextro-based bondmate happily responded. "_AJ! You're finally done, good; I've been waiting forever! Where have you been you bosh'tet?"_

He couldn't help but grin at her exuberance at such a short time apart as he sarcastically replied. _"I've just been shopping with Kasumi, you know how she is. Besides, you never got me a banana, so I had to go look for one myself!"_

Miss Zorah sighed in exasperation, but continued on her giddy demeanor after a long moment. _"I'm trying to help you quit your addiction to that fruit, nutrient paste is much better for you! _He rolled his eyes, but didn't have time to respond as she quietly added._ "But...even though you're late, I have a surprise for you."_

"_Tacos_?" Aj guessed without much thought.

Tali turned her head slightly, as if confused at his diction. "I_ don't know what a ta-h-coo is, but no_." She shook her head, and confidently put her hands on her hips as she continued. "_Come take a taxi to D-25, and hurry!_" The lady of the hour then cocked her hip, and snidely added. "_If I have to come and get you, you'll find out exactly why I won the hand-to-hand combat competitions on the Neema_."

Aj cocked his eyebrow in response, smirking as well. "_Man Tali, you've got to be the most violent woman I've ever met. You're lucky I love you._"

His antics earned a giggle in response, and the quarian happily answered. "_I think you're the lucky one, Aj. There's plenty of times Chiktikka could have made a surprise visit when you were in the shower!_ _I'll be waiting primate!" _With that, she wriggled her three fingers in a goodbye and cut the link.

_Man I love that woman..._ Aj thought to himself after the connection was severed. _I wonder what's the surprise? _However, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a small cache of information directly interfaced to his mind; within a second it had been decoded and translated into a conscious data cluster. _A hotel in the D-25 district? _The large human shrugged his shoulders, and briskly walked towards the taxi service nearby. Thankfully, he had barely waited a minute before an automated cab gently parked at the designated area. Within moments, the vehicle was airborne and en route towards his favorite bosh'tet.

Unfortunately, the ride was not as brief, and he was stuck in the cramped vehicle for over ten minutes. As he exited the vehicle, a rather loud cracking sound made the few nearby asari smoking -what looked like cigarettes- jump up in surprise, but they quickly chuckled at the frowning over-sized human rubbing his back. For some reason, Aj was not as amused with the cramped conditions. _I can't believe such a shitty cramped ride cost me 50 credits...you think they'd compensate in case a krogan or something needed a ride. _He stretched for a moment, and was startled slightly when the car elevated itself and flew off without him.

After a few seconds of extremely satisfying stretching, Aj glanced around at his surroundings. It was a rather large circular courtyard with multitudes of little stands encircling an ornate fountain. An extremely tall building, shaped much like an old cathedral, dominated the skyline at the 12 o'clock position. Although the darkness meant the -what looked like- kiosks were closed, the taller building was brightly lit. _Well, this must be the place... I hope._ As he began to walk towards his goal, the two asari he had startled earlier quickly strided beside him, one on each side.

"What's up?" Aj said as he reached the fountain. The two blue females had easily caught up with him considering his lackadaisical pace. The female on the right did not seem as interested in conversation, and quickly lit up another of her cancer sticks.

The asari to his right seemed slightly puzzled at the nonchalant verbiage, but the lady on his left spoke up first. She calmly enunciated, managing to sneak in a small hint of sultriness. "Not many humans stay at Histo's hotel, especially by themselves."

Aj paused momentarily in shock at the woman's outright... Offer? He shook his thoughts back to the situation at hand, however, and attempted to divert. "Why not? It looks like a nice place, especially if all these stands are open in the daytime."

The asari to his right blew out a rather large whisp of smoke, then spoke up in a somewhat condescending tone. "Because our species don't need the environmental manipulation. Most of our clients are elcor, hanar, and volus."

The left asari glared at the other, and angrily retorted. "You don't have to be such a bitch, Zinny, you know as well as I do low gravity rooms are relaxing for most species." The female referred to as Zinny immediately scowled, but was not given a pause to speak. "Besides, you forgot quarians. Right now the penthouse has one, actually."

Zinny rolled her eyes, commenting. "Whatever, I don't really give a damn about who stays here. Our break time's over anyway Latush." The blue woman flicked her cigarette out, and quickly walked away from the two without another word.

_Wait, a quarian in the penthouse? And... Environmental manipulation? Uhh... _Aj glanced at the remaining blue alien woman, and cautiously asked. "Excuse me, uh... Latush? Is the quarian by any chance Tali'Zorah vas Neema?"

The woman looked at him quizzically for a brief pause, but then solemnly answered. "I'm sorry, but I cannot divulge any of our client's personal information, company policy." Latush then opened up her omnitool interface, and after a few seconds frowned at the information. She then made eye contact, giving him a strange look, and asked. "What's your name? By the looks of it, I don't think we have any humans booked."

He quickly sent his basic identification information towards the woman and thoughtlessly answered. "Antonio'Sanchez vas Neema." She glanced back down at her tool, then gasped; the asari's eyes coincided with widening immediately in surprise._ Oh great... Another fun expl-_

His mental tangent was quickly interrupted by the surprised asari; Latush managed to squeak out. "You're sharing a room with a...a... Quarian!?" Aj crossed his arms and sported a disapproving frown, and she immediately paused her outburst. The woman placed her hand on her forehead, then took a deep breath, and in an attempt to be calm, perused. "I... I don't understand. I've never he ard of a human, or any other species for that matter, with a quarian designator, or for that matter... Well...With a quarian. I...well I'm sorry for being rude." Before Aj had a chance to interject, she continued in a slightly more amused tone. "You humans are so full of surprises. I definitely need to visit Earth one of these days."

_Well... At least she said sorry. _Aj decided to just drop the previous rude comment, and answered with a chuckle. "Earth used to be a fun place, even though it's probably changed a lot in the last century. If you go, make sure to visit the Caribbean islands, they've got some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen."

The asari smiled, happily nodding in approval, but soon after she raised an eyebrow. "I'll make a note of that, but you just said a century. You don't look that old for a human?"

_Whoops, Shepard told me not to say this century shit to an asari, they'll catch it... Ok, um..._ _You know what? Fuck it. _Aj winked at the woman, smirking. "Thanks for the compliment, but you know I'm already taken. She's probably already mad I've taken so long. It's really late!"

Latush darkened ever so lightly, and checked her omnitool, frowning at the time. "Actually, it's barely into the evening, it's just Illium is currently on its winter cycle, so the darkness comes really early. I'm sorry for keeping you, though. But yes, your right, she checked in well over an hour ago. Please follow me, I'm the clerk here at Histo's, I was just on break. I'll get you checked in." She began to walk towards the large building, and snickered as she paced quicker and added. "I do believe your mistress has been waiting for quite some time, so let's get you up there ASAP shall we?"

Aj sped up along with her, and answered in a pleased agreement. "Sounds like a plan, shouldn't keep her waiting; quarian women can get pretty violent."

The asari woman and Aj both chuckled lightly as they entered the building, and Latush commented. "My cousin is actually dating a krogan, so I see where your coming from." She was still smiling as she arrived at the greeting desk. It was a semicircular post in the middle of a beautiful inside courtyard, complete with a smaller version of the fountain outside. Each side of the desk was within feet of beautiful marble-like staircases, the white steps shining in the surprisingly bright inside. Everything was beautiful, such as the railing; it was made of a strange light orange wood, and adorned with a red trimmings. She plucked away at the terminal for a few moments, then handed him a small card while stating. "Your room's at the top of the hotel, room P-1. Please, enjoy your stay, and call the designated number on your card if you need anything!"

Aj merely nodded his approval, then slowly proceeded towards the staircase, mostly in part due to his admiration for the said extravagant architecture. _Thank goodness there's only one flight of stairs, hell... This building's probably twenty stories tall... But how the hell did Tali afford a penthouse? _As he entered the second floor's elevator, his question still remained unanswered. By the time it had indeed reached the top floor, he still could not think of a viable means for his quarian to get that much money... _But, if this room can be a sterile environment...Well... This'll be an interesting night... I think. _Thankfully, there was only a few rooms on the top floor; room 1 was nearest the elevator, making the trek less than a few meters. Even the hallway exemplified the new floor's resplendence, with beautiful marble walls, and an extremely strange looking border made of alien shells on the bottom. _Wow... This place is meant for rich people...even aliens have fine tastes. _He eventually took out his card, and was pleased to notice it operated much like the card readers he had used prior to his century stasis, albeit smaller and a horizontal placement.

Aj cautiously opened the now unlocked door, and was surprised to be face to face with… a rather large steel door. The card slot was in the same place as the door previously, but a very familiar voice stopped his movement. An extremely nervous Tali asked. "Hello? Uh... who is there?"

Aj smiled just at hearing her voice, even though it had only been a few hours since he'd last seen her. "Nobody important, I came to deliver a fresh batch of bosh'tets to a Miss Tali'Zorah. Is this the right room?"

His antics were rewarded with a barely audible giggle, and the quarian ecstatically responded. "About time Aj! Keelah, I've been waiting for ever!" _So, I can set this room to like 0.3 G? That'd be awesome!_

Aj smirked, and proceeded to place his card in the slot, which led to... Another steel door. _Oh, an airlock? This room must be sterilized..._ As the door behind him closed, momentarily sealing him between two steel doors, a sudden thought came to his mind. _This... Might be the night...I really hope Mordin knows what he's talking about.. What am I saying, the guys a damn genius...he's got us covered... I hope._ He gulped in nervousness, but didn't have time to continue his mental perusal. After a few seconds, a beeping sound signaled the end of the decontamination cycle, and the beginning of a new adventure.

When the second door opened, he was treated to a very happy Tali'Zorah, who had her her hands on her hips. Her right foot was tapping the ground rapidly, but her facial expression betrayed her false annoyance as she coyly remarked. "You know, I could have reconfigured the entire ship's thrusters before you got here. I thought you were only shopping for a little while?" She looked to be standing in the living room, with what looked like the kitchen area clearly visible to his right. The strange teardrop shaped glasses and strange perfectly semicircle couches with a circular TV screen on the wall, in the kitchen and living room respectively was slightly strange, but did have its own relaxing touch. The walls were all a light yellow color, while the furniture mentioned was a deep navy blue; both were complimented by the very high ceiling, making any individual inside feel as though there was even more room. The nearby kitchen seemed to shine in the slight illumination provided by the crystal chandelier high up top; every culinary object seemed to be made of stainless steel or a similar equivalent. Past the small room, he could see a small hallway, but his attention was brought back towards a certain quarian before he could visually explore more.

_I'll never get tired of seeing her beautiful face. _Aj did notice, however, the back of her helmet was also removed, exposing extremely long, dark black hair reaching slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes seemed to be glowing more than normal, and he was able to clearly see her white pupils inside the silver orbs. For a brief moment, he noticed her pupils were similar to a feline, vertically aligned, but it didn't last long. _She looks even more beautiful with her hair out..._ Aj took a step towards her, and within a heartbeat, she finished the distance; he gently placed his left hand on her hips, while the right gently stroked her hair. _It feels silkier than any I've ever felt..._He looked right into her eyes, and softly uttered. "I know I've already told you this, but you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Tali."

Her fake annoyed frown quickly disappeared, and the quarian's face darkened slightly, but her smile did not abate, actually increasing in exuberance. She gratefully added. "You did, but that doesn't mean I don't like hearing you say it." Before he could remark, however, two dark purple lips connected with his, ceasing all verbal communication for the next few seconds.

As Aj was passionately engaged in the oral embrace, he noticed a strange feeling on his hand. When their kiss finally broke away, he looked down at his hand and saw three lavender digits, each with a small -around a centimeter- white claw gently enveloped between his fingers. Apparently, his face must have contorted into something less pleasant, as she sadly stated. "We quarians...we have these claws on our hands and feet... They're small, vestigial structures from when we used to hunt..." She looked down as if in shame. "I'm sorry if they...bother you."

Aj blinked rapidly as the silver orbs reconnected with his eyes, and he quickly clarified. "Tali, you really need to quit putting yourself down. It's nothing like that, I just realized I've never seen your hands before." He gently grabbed her right hand with his right, and kissed the top of her palm. "I actually think they're cute, though I'm glad to see they're not sharp."_ I'm really...really glad they're dull, actually. That could have been...problematic. Wait a second, damnit Mordin and your word choice!_

Tali glanced at her own hand, but her attention was diverted as Aj leaned in and engaged in a second battle of the lips; he could practically feel the tenseness evaporate from the young woman, and when their lip parted, only a smile was left in return. Before she became nervous about something random, Aj decided to ask now rather than later. "So, not that I'm complaining, but why are your gloves off?" As surprised as he was to see her without her mask, he figured she had sterilized the room, and had longed to make sure it was safe. _I can't blame her for wanting to take that thing off, though._

His thoughts about her reasonings behind her mask quickly subsided as he watched his lover's eyes quickly glow with excitement."I've been… washing them all day! It's very relaxing, keelah, I wish we had these on the fleet!" She was practically bouncing on her toes in excitement, and pointed to the kitchen sink.

Any other person, he would have guffawed at the incredulity in that statement. However, knowing Tali… he just couldn't be an ass. He gently grabbed one of her three fingered hands, and chuckled seeing that they were indeed pruned from extended exposure under water. "Well, I'm glad you're liking the place, after checking out the lobby, I bet it's awesome up here! Mind showing this primate around?"

She smiled and grabbed his right hand with her left hand, tugging him past the kitchen and living room area. Aj noticed the living room was extremely small for a reason, as the hallway led towards a larger area. A small wall cut off the field of view from the kitchen area, and both he and Tali walked to the right side of it. What awaited him literally made him stop in his tracks.

The excited dextro appeared right beside him and, after seeing his awestruck expression, began another infamous nervous ramble. "So, Aj, what do you think? I tried to tell Liara it was too much, but she wouldn't listen and kept saying we needed something special and I tried to tell her it was too much but she just offered to pay for it! But then I tried to sa-"

Aj lifted an arm to pause her, just admiring –and trying to comprehend- exactly what he saw. The one… giant room, seemed about the size of a normal basketball court, including the sidelines for width. The walls, were not actually walls, but were made of an encircling aquarium filled to the brink with multitudes of colorful and unique specimens of aquatic biota and an opaque baby blue background. Two large loveseats and two accompanying recliners encircled a large rectangular area, and as Aj walked towards it, he noticed it was a see-through retractable cover over a decently sized in-room swimming pool. A large bed sat at the 6 o'clock position of the room, again matching the dark blue color of the rest of the furniture, and behind it what seemed to be a balcony with a decent view of Illium's skyline. For a moment, he was worried at the one vital component what had been missing, but fully relaxed as he saw what looked like a lavatory with its door ajar near the bed.

He took a few more moments still mesmerized by the ornate furnishings he apparently would be staying at... with his fiancée. _Well, Tali, you sure know how to pick a nice place. I don't know how you haven't jumped in the pool yet, though!_ His shocked expression quickly became a grin, and as he turned to face his worried lover, she seemed to relax substantially. She nervously asked, "So, uh, do you like it?"

Aj chuckled, and grabbed one of her hands, still entranced by the unique texture of her skin. "Tali, I don't care if the room looked like a cargo bay. I'm just glad it's safe for you to take off your mask; I've got enough of a beautiful view right here, I didn't need anything more." Tali smiled a bit, then looked around as if slightly confused, but then Aj continued. "And to your question, Miss Zorah, yes, I do like it. This place is phenomenal! I'm really glad you picked it out." Mentally saying to hell with it, he quickly threw an arm under her legs, with his other supporting her back. Within a moment, he was cradling her in his arms, and surprisingly she only flailed right at the beginning of airborne-ness.

Her grin caused her next statement's disgruntled tone to lack any sort of real anger. "You bosh'tet, that's the only reason you do that; you just want to see me panic for nothing!" Aj chuckled in agreement, and gently sat her on his lap as he had made himself comfortable on one of the loveseats. Before he could make another comment about the room, Tali softly continued. "This place wasn't as fun by myself, but with you here, it feels so much nicer." Her head softly rested on his chest, simply hearing the sounds of the 'bizarre' two beats of his heart.

He put one arm around her, softly stroking her unfortunately still suited back. They simply relaxed in each other's company for a few seconds, but suddenly, Tali barely managed to whisper. "Have you ever… had sex?"

Aj's calm demeanor immediately resorted to a nervous façade more commonly associated with his quarian mistress. _Will… she be mad at me if I say yes? I don't think she ever has…_ He looked down and was greeted by two silver orbs patiently waiting on an answer, which made him even more nervous. "Have you?"

She looked down for a moment, then calmly stared directly at his eyes. "No, Aj. I'm a quarian, we don't…. do that, until we're fully bonded. And you know we only bond once…" She seemed extremely sad at the possible ramifications of the statement, but never took her eyes off his.

Aj sighed deeply, knowing lying to her would be the worst mistake of his life. _If anyone does, she deserves to know the truth about me, no matter what she asks… _"Yes Tali, I have, but with only one person. She was before I went into outer space, and well…" He nearly added '_we even had a child coming' _but stopped himself_..._ "but she didn't make it… she was on the ship with me when it…exploded." He couldn't look into her eyes anymore, and slumped in his seat. "I'm sorry."

Two slender arms snaked around his torso, and he gently returned her embrace. Aj gently whispered, "Thank you." She didn't respond with words, but definitely tightened her embrace on him. After a few seconds, the embrace finally ended.

She softly whispered. "I'm scared... Aj." The multitudes of emotions, from fear, to innocence, to trust, what could be tied to ten letters was astounding.

Aj lifted her chin so her unmasked countenance was directly facing his. "You know we don't have to take this step if you're not ready."

Tali turned her head in slight confusion, her face exemplifying the expression. "No, not that Aj, I've been waiting for this for a while. I'm ready to fully… bond with you, but…" She looked at the aquarium-walls, then back at him with a slightly more somber face. "I can't stop thinking...How can you bond to me if…" The distressed quarian again looked away, then back at him with an even more worried face. "I feel like I'm… what's the word… 'roping?'... you into something you don't want, you don't need. I don't want my bond to be an annoy-"

For the second time today, he cut her off, quickly raising a finger to her lips, quelling her enunciations. He sternly, but in as comforting as a tone, clarified. "Tali, I asked you to bond with me. Don't you remember? I want you here by me for the rest of your life, everytime you second guess that it worries me. I would never leave you for any reason, that's part of falling in love with someone, part of being two halves of a whole soul." He motioned his hand on his forehead down his scalp in a somewhat flustered expression, then softly added. "What else could I possibly do to show you that I mean it…that I want you by my side, always?"

Tali had silently been watching as he answered her questions, and although he was slightly mad, she was as certain as possible he meant every word that he said, that he was going to be there for as long as he lived. _Keelah, please ancestors don't curse me to a broken life, a shell of what I am until this day. _She reflected on her own mental musings, and would have yelled at herself for her own second guessing. _I know this is the right decision…he's everything that I've wanted…and no quarian has even come close…_In a barely audible tone, Tali stated. "I think you've done everything you can to tell me, but now it's time to show me."

Aj's eyes widened immensely, as her grin expanded at his own facial gesture. _She's really ready to fully commit to me…without another doubt… I know I am ready for her… but what if I'm not enough… what if…she needs someone better…maybe being human is my flaw…I just…_ Two purple lips silenced, for the second time today, his thoughts, and seemed to make his decision much easier. Seconds passed, and the lovers passionately continued their oral caress. _She is the right decision… there's no doubt about it… _

Aj gently stroked her long black hair after parting the kiss, and she cooed in response. _Even the way she's exhaling...it's so different, so much...higher pitched... _ Aj was glad his affinity for pseudoconversations in the back of his mind never detracted him from the situations at hand. With all tenderness he could muster, Aj quietly whispered, "I love you Tali'Zorah… and I always will." _I never thought I'd be making love to a woman from a different planet… but she's worth it…_

Tali looked back at him, her smile deeper and truer than he had seen since they were at the hotel, and responded. "I love you too Antonio'Sanchez, and I always will." She leaned in for another kiss…

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" Both Aj and Tali jumped from their sitting positions, but Tali quickly recognized the sound. She nearly growled at her omnitool, but noticed it was Shepard calling.

"Oh keelah, Aj can you take this please? I don't have my mask on!" Tali said frantically jumping from the seat. Tali plucked at her omnitool furiously for a few moments, then practically sprinted towards the lavatory while Aj answered the call.

Doing his best to hide this displeasure, Aj somewhat forced cheerfully responded. "Hey Shepard, what's up?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow for a moment, then asked. "Well, I was hoping to reach you and Tali, but-" Suddenly, a suited figure came bolting from the said bathroom with her mask freshly into place.

"Sorry Shepard, I was, uh… busy." She pushed a button on the back of her helmet, causing the mask to hiss into its airtight mode. Tali's eyes widened as Shepard's face immediately contorted into a grin after hearing the hiss. Aj couldn't help but chuckle and shrug his shoulders, which then caused the commander's subtle grin to conform into a full-fledged smile. Tali was not as pleased.

As quickly as it appeared, however, Shepard's grin disappeared. "I'm sorry for interrupting you two's night out, but I really need you two for the Dantius Towers tonight. Apparently Nassana just arrived, considerably early, so our assassin will probaly be ready jsoon."

Tali sighed, and weakly answered. "We'll be there immediately Shepard, don't worry." Aj nodded his affirmation.

Shepard did the same gesture as Aj had earlier, his hand over his forehead, then back through his hair in an uncomfortable gesture, as he sincerely quipped. "I'll make sure you guys have the rest of the day off, don't worry. This shouldn't take too long. I'll see you guys at the dock." With that, their commander hastily cut the call.

Aj couldn't help but chuckle as his lover unhappily began putting back up her gloves grumbling in some Khelish unpleasantries. "C'mon Tali, he said it wouldn't take too long!"

"It better not." She said still mad, her slimmed eye slits adding towards her angered expression. "If I have to take down that assassin by myself, I will, but I can guarantee you it will not be a long mission."

Aj couldn't help but mentally add a reminder._ Note to self… never piss off a quarian woman. _


	44. Story Revisions

Instead of pumping out a new chapter, these next couple of weeks I will be polishing my story as it is. I'm comfortable with 95% of what I've written, but after rereading it for the umpteenth time I'm still dissatisfied with all the unsolved plotlines, random loopholes, and overall wrong dialogue in respect to time intermittently throughout the story. The story will not change, but I want to make sure everything is accurately set, because once Illium is complete, things get extremely interesting ;)

Note: Blame Organic Chemistry and graduate school applications for the delays in published material…it's no bueno


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